It Started With a Key
by xache
Summary: When Laxus shows Lucy the zodiac key he got on his last mission, Lucy will do anything to get it. Rated M for a reason. ;) First chapter edited!
1. Day 1- A Dubious Deal

"Where did you get that?!" Lucy exclaimed, pointing frantically to the golden key in the lightning dragon slayer's hand. They were sitting at the bar in the guild hall, the only two who were not fully enthralled with the fight that just broke out. Laxus calmly dodged a glass that flew at his head as he turned to face her.

"It was a gift from the patrons of the last job I went on. They didn't seem to know what it was, actually…." Laxus trailed off, remembering how he had seen it awkwardly shoved into an inappropriate keyhole.

"That's Libra! One of the twelve zodiacs!"

"Is it?" Laxus said uninterestedly, pretending he didn't already know that as he glanced at the shining key.

"Can I….can I have it?" Lucy asked abashedly. It felt a bit rude to just ask to take it from him without anything in exchange, but she was the only celestial mage in the guild. It seemed rather obvious he'd give it to her, unless he had some kind of key collection nobody knew about.

"And what will you give me?" the lighting mage asked, eyebrow cocked.

"I…uh…I was hoping you'd just….y'know…give it to me…especially since….y'know…you can't actually use it or anything…." Lucy fidgeted and stared at the ground as she spoke, desperately avoiding his grey stormy eyes hidden behind that menacing scar.

"That doesn't sound very fair, blondie. After all the hard work I went through to get it." He didn't sound too troubled.

"What do you want?" she glanced up at him and saw a smirk spark across his face like lightning.

He leaned in towards her making her gasp and hold her breath. "You," he whispered in her ear, taking in her scent as he hovered over her shoulder.

"Eeeehhh!" she screeched as her face turned red. Laxus tried desperately not to laugh. "N-no way! I couldn't do something like that!" She glanced around to make sure no one had witnessed such an insult to her honor, but everyone was now gathered around as Natsu bit Gray's ankle like the mature adult he was.

"Well, you could just buy it from me I suppose," he conceeded. Lucy let out a sigh of relief.

"Great! I mean, not that you're not an attractive man or anything, you're very attractive, I mean in an objective kind of- not that I'm personally into that, not that I couldn't but, uh, I mean, well…" She blushed deeply and shook her head. "How much?"

"One hundred million Jewel," he replied cordially.

Lucy was pretty sure she felt her heart stop. She searched his face for some sign he was just joking, but nothing gave. "You're fucking with me, right?" she said coldly.

"No, that's what I want to do," he smirked. "But if you won't buy, I'm sure I can find someone else who's interested," he teased, holding the key above her but out of her reach and turning to leave. As expected, though, he felt a slight tug on his shirt.

"W-wait," Lucy said quietly, looking everywhere except into his cloudy eyes. She struggled to pay her rent. There was no way she could afford that much, not without crawling back to her father. She really wanted that key, though…

"One week," he said, interrupting her train of thought. "You do whatever I say for one week and the key is yours."

"I won't hurt any of my nakama. Or give you any of my keys," she said, oddly confidently turnin her head up to face him, though she was still shaking slightly. She knew what she was agreeing to was so wrong, but she couldn't pass up Libra!

"Of course," Laxus said with a mischievous smile. He could think of plenty of things to do that didn't involve either of those things. "Each day will count as one-seventh of the total payment. If you ever want to tap out, you can always just buy the rest from me."

"D-deal," Lucy said, finally raising her gaze to his, making his heart beat slightly harder than usual.

"First thing, blondie," he said, leaning into her, "You can't tell anyone about our little arrangement." She nodded. Not like she wanted to tell anyone something that embarrassing anyway.

"Good. I'm coming over this evening, so make sure none of your little friends are in my way," Laxus ordered. She felt her breath hitch. He was coming over? Tonight? She nodded, avoiding his gaze as she worked through what he might have planned and blushed. Laxus laughed lightly.

"See you then, blondie," he said before strutting out of the hall, not breaking his pace as he punched Natsu in the face as the fire mage requested a fight.

 _What have I gotten myself into?_ Lucy thought.

* * *

Lucy was by no means a blushing virgin, having slept with a few guys of no consequence in her past, but Laxus was different. Besides the fact that she actually knew him and couldn't just pretend they'd never met afterwards like she normally did, he was so much more…powerful than anyone she'd ever been with. In front of him, the usually seductive celestial mage turned into a weak-kneed school girl.

She heard a knock at the door and her heart jumped. Actually all of her jumped. She tiptoed to the door and opened it to see the older mage leaning against her door frame. "Hey blondie," he said with a smirk.

"I have a name, you know," she said, stepping aside to let him in. "Besides, you're blonde too."

"Is that so, Lucy?" he said, letting the last word drip off her tongue making her shiver slightly.

"On second thought, just call me blondie," she said. He responded with a light chuckle as they made their way to the main room that compactly housed her bed, wardrobe, vanity, desk, and dining table. He glanced around the bright little room that smelled strongly of Lucy's vanilla scent.

"Not nearly as well furnished as I'd expect from a Heartfilia," he said teasingly.

"Well, I left my family, if you remember," Lucy retorted sharply.

Laxus tsked at her. "Now that tone won't do, blondie," he said, grabbing her wrist firmly but not harshly. She felt a slight shock and instantly drew back. Glancing down she realized he put a small lighting mark on her pale wrist.

"Hey!" she began, but was cut off.

"It'll fade. It's just there to remind you who you belong to this week."

"I don't belong to anyone," Lucy protested. She was used to owning her celestial spirits, but she had refused to be anyone's property since she left her father's estate.

"I guess you'd rather just hand over the money then?" he taunted. Lucy balled up her fists and glared at him, but held her tongue.

"Good girl," he said, patting her head. "Now, let's go over some ground rules, shall we? You will refer to me as Master or Sir unless in familiar company. You will do everything I say without hesitation or I will punish you. As we agreed earlier, no one will know of our little set up. If you object to anything I ask you to do, you can always tap out and I will stop, but our agreement will be terminated and that key will stay in my possession until you pay the remaining amount. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Lucy gritted through her teeth, staring off at the side.

"Yes…?" Laxus hinted.

"Yes _sir_ ," Lucy said sarcastically. She felt a light shock on her arm and immediately gripped it.

"Not quite the tone we're going for" Laxus said mockingly.

"S-sorry…sir," Lucy replied.

"Very good. I think we're going to have a very lovely week, you and I." He walked over to sit on her sofa. "Take off your clothes, but leave on your underwear," he said. Lucy hesitated and felt his gaze on her before another sharp shock hit her other arm. "We're not hesitating, are we?"

"N-no sir," Lucy said and she began unbuttoning her sleeveless blue top. She tried to act like she wasn't a bit excited as she shimmied off her shirt to reveal her large, voluptuous breasts barely contained by a simple lacy black bra. She could feel the heat of Laxus' eyes on her as she undid her skirt and let it fall to the floor in a pool around her feet revealing matching panties that hugged her soft curves.

Laxus took a few seconds to observe the beautifully sculpted body before him, trying not to let her see how affected he was. _She really is beautiful_ , he thought, and he could already feel his enlarged member straining against his pants while his heart beat erratically. He finally beckoned for her to come over to him, which she did without a problem for once. She took her place in front of him, between his spread out legs. He patted his lap and she took that as a sign to stradde him. She could feel his hardness pressing against the thin lace of her underwear beneath her as she settled on top of him. His hands felt up her soft ass, moving up her silky curves to her waist, one hand pulling her in closer there while another journeyed onward to snake into her golden locks.

He pulled her face town until it was just an inch from his, stopping to look into her eyes for a moment. "Kiss me," he said and she closed the gap between them quickly, partly fearing another zap and partly for reasons she wasn't keen on admitting. He let her kiss him gently for a moment before his rough lips ravaged her soft ones, his tongue demanding entrance which she opened her mouth to allow. Despite its roughness, it wasn't unpleasant. His tongue explored every corner of her mouth before engaging her own in a playful battle of sorts. He sucked on her bottom lip and continued his tirade, causing her to moan slightly. He pulled away for a moment to catch his breath, smiling darkly at her before sucking her back in.

As he continued to kiss her he moved his hand from her waist to her breast, teasing her nipple through her bra causing her to gasp. Her reaction opened her mouth for him to delve deeper inside her. She had to admit, though she disapproved of the circumstances of their involvment it was not hard to enjoy the moment. She reached up and draped her arms around his neck, stroking his hair with one of her hands and pressing herself closer to him. He groaned a little in surprise and lightly thrust his hips upward into her.

He pulled away, both of them panting lightly and out of breath. He leaned into her shoulder and whispered, "Suck me."

In a manner not entirely devoid of enthusiasm, she climbed off of his lap and knelt before him, turning her attention to the obvious bulge in his pants. She reached forward, her former timidness all but vanished, and unzipped his pants, pulling out the impressive length. She had assumed Laxus would be large as the rest of him was, but now she was worrying whether or not that would fit inside her later.

Before he could shock her for hesitating, she bent down and licked up his length from the base. She could feel him twitch slightly in her hand as she ran her tongue over his head, swirling it around and then plunging it into her warm, soft mouth, careful to sheath her teeth. She sucked on him, going as far as she could but and attending to the rest with her hand. She ran her tongue all around, sucking as she went and felt him lace his hands into her hair. She pulled her mouth off and took him in her small, lithe hand, pumping and squeezing him as her lips made their way to his balls, gently sucking and causing the dragon slayer to shiver.

"Aaaah….mmmnn…" She could hear him groan above her and felt herself heat up at the sound.

She moved her attention back to his cock, licking it all over before popping it back into her mouth. She sucked up and down, pulling him closer and closer to release. Eventually he began lightly thrusting up to meet her before finally pulling her head in closer as well, forcing her down to the hilt. Fully pressed into her he grunted as he finally came, releasing his hot seed deep into her throat. He pulled out half way, giving her the space to swallow before finally allowing her to release him entirely.

Lucy breathed heavily, the taste of him still thick in her mouth, though it wasn't entirely unpleasant. She could feel a tingling at her core and found herself almost eagerly anticipating the next part so she could reach her own release. She looked up and saw Laxus staring down at her, amusement twinkling in his dark eyes as he tucked himself back into his pants.

"Someone looks eager to continue," he teased but Lucy was too far gone to blush. "Unfortunately we'll be stopping here tonight," and he stood up to leave. He sauntered toward the door then stopped as he touched the handle. "And don't think about touching yourself. I'll be able to tell if you have, and I want you nice and ready for me tomorrow," he said, he pulled the door open and disappeared into the night.

Lucy stared at the empty doorway in disbelief. She itched to relieve herself but feared whatever his punishment might be so she tried to distract herself with other things. She changed out of her underwear into a fresh pair of panties and a nightgown. The lacy black pair was soaked through, and the pink cotton ones soon were as well. Frustrated, she made a cup of chamomile tea, pretended to read for an hour, and then fell asleep.

 _What have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

Hello readers! I've edited this chapter a bit since first releasing it and I'm working on the second chapter now. :)

This is my first fanfic, so I'd love feedback. See y'all soon!


	2. Day 2- A Long Night

**Hey guys! Sorry it took so long, but I was busy doing nothing productive. I'll _try_ to update faster next time. XD Anyway, please leave a review if you like it (or if you don't I'd like to hear that too)! **

* * *

Lucy spent the next morning showering, making breakfast, and over-analyzing Laxus' intentions. It was a match so odd even she couldn't quite grasp its meaning.

 _Is he actually interested in me, or am I just a distraction?_ _I mean, he's never shown any interest before. Not that it matters anyway because there's no way I care what Laxus Dreyar thinks of me…right?_

If Master Makarov was king of Fairy Tail, Laxus was its prince (albeit a temporarily banished one…like Zuko!). He was a fair bit older than Lucy, and, honestly, she'd always thought that there must be something between him and Freed. Or Evergreen. Or Mira! She shuddered at the thought of Mira treating her as a love rival. Juvia was bad enough.

Just as she finished her breakfast a knock came from the front door—a clear sign it wasn't Natsu or Gray who could be depended upon to climb through the window of their own accord. She approached the door cautiously, as if afraid it might zap her (not out of the realm of possibility) and slowly unlocked and opened it. Anticlimactically there was no one there, but a small, gold package lay at her feet. She poked it nervously before picking it up at taking it back into the apartment. Inside was a long, black piece of fabric, a small vile of some powder, and a note.

"Blondie—I'll be coming by sometime after 8 this evening. You will unlock your front door, put on the blindfold (enclosed), and wait undressed sitting on the bed. Drink this powder before you leave for the guild this morning, and remember: don't touch yourself. Any deviance will result in punishment."

The note was signed with only a lightning bolt. _Such a flare for dramatics_. Lucy rolled her eyes and turned to the powder. It was a light lavender color and odorless. She worried what it would do but assumed Laxus would make sure it was safe, though why she trusted Laxus that much was another mystery. She poured it into a glass of water and chugged it down, thankful it wasn't too bitter. At last she grabbed her keys and whip and headed for the guild.

* * *

Halfway to the guild she found out what the powder did.

All of a sudden, she felt like a bitch in heat. Her core itched and tingled, seeking pleasurable relief and getting wetter by the second. Were it not for her formal upbringing and inbred sense of social propriety she would have been tempted to hump the first moving thing she saw, which (on this occasion) would have been a very distressed pigeon. The thought alone made her blush deeply in shame. She was in no state to go to the guild today, but though it was not explicitly written in the letter, she had a feeling Laxus would not be pleased with her hiding away. This was all part of his game. She also knew that if left alone she would be too tempted to touch herself, something she was told directly not to do. She didn't quite know what "punishment" meant, but coming from Laxus it sure sounded intimidating.

When she entered the guild her eyes quickly scanned for any sign of the lightning dragon slayer, but upon satisfyingly determining his absence moved to sit with Natsu and Erza, expending an abnormal amount of effort on simply walking to the table without moaning.

"Hey Luce!" he called as she walked over. Belatedly she realized he might be able to smell Laxus' scent on her and her arousal, but as he didn't mention anything she decided to act normally.

"What's that?" she asked casually, pointing to the flyer in Natsu's hand.

"We were thinking of going on a mission? You up for it?" Erza said.

"I dunno. I…uh...actually have something to do this evening," she replied. Rent would have to wait; she needed that key first. And she wasn't sure she could walk.

"Aw, c'mon Lucy! It's just in the next town, shouldn't take that long. What time do you have to be back?" Natsu asked.

"Well before eight."

"I'm sure we'll be back way before then," Erza said.

"Alright then, sure."

"What do you have to do anyway?" Natsu asked. It wasn't like Lucy to have plans and with a smell like that...

"I…er…have a date," she lied. Or was it a lie? She wasn't completely sure.

"A date? With who?" a voice behind her asked. She turned to see a scantily clad Gray with a cocked eyebrow behind her. In her current condition, he'd never look so hump-able.

"None of your business," Lucy said defensively, blushing brightly, pressing her thighs together, and trying to get the urge to tackle Gray out of her head. "So don't come bursting through my window like you always do. Same with you, Natsu!" she warned sternly.

The two mages muttered some kind of agreement before challenging each other to a fight, which was quickly quelled by Titania's glare. As the three of them argued, Lucy's attention was drawn to the large blonde who just entered the guild hall, flanked by the Raijinshuu. Laxus was talking to Freed about something, but sent a sly grin Lucy's direction, making eye contact for just a moment before continuing with the others to the bar.

"Let's go," Lucy said quickly, hoping to get out before Laxus could tell just how affected his little powder made her, though it was too late for that.

Team Natsu made their way to the door, Lucy trying to indiscreetly pull down her skirt while Gray and Natsu whispered insults at each other behind Erza's back. Already Lucy's knees were feeling weak, her whole body flushed. She was really, _really_ horny.

"You feeling okay Luce?" Natsu asked concernedly. "You look a bit… pink." Luckily he didn't mention anything about the change in her scent she was fairly certain he could discern. Apparently he wasn't completely lacking in sensitivity and discretion as she'd imagined.

" _You_ look pink," she teased back, ruffling his bright hair playfully before assuring him she was fine.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Lucy streaked through town from the train station towards her apartment as fast as her young debutante legs could carry her. _Laxus is going to kill me!_ She should have been back hours ago, but naturally Natsu had to destroy something important and hold their entire journey up. She glanced at a street clock as she ran by: 8:02. _Shit._

She flew up the stairs of her apartment to her room and frantically unlocked the door, looking every which way for any sign of a disgruntled dragon slayer. She entered the apartment half expecting to see him waiting for her inside, but there was no one to be seen anywhere. She let out a small sigh of relief and walked over to the window where she shut the curtains.

Without wasting any more time, she quickly stripped down and put on the blindfold. Despite the fact she was alone in the apartment, she still felt very self-conscious and awkward. Laxus sure was into some kinky stuff, though she had to admit it was a bit thrilling when it wasn't terrifying.

She clumsily trekked to the bed— _I should have done this before I put the blindfold on…_ \- and sat on the edge facing the door. With her sight gone all her other senses seemed to be working overtime, but in the silence of the night all she could hear was the rushing of blood in her ears and the distant lap of water on the canal walls. Every small creak made her heart race even faster as she anticipated the sound of the door opening. Her room wasn't cold by any means, but she shivered nonetheless and could feel light goose bumps rise on her arms and chest.

Once her hurried panic about being late calmed down, her overwhelming horniness made itself known again. The powder's effects were only slightly diminished over the course of the day, though perhaps that was just her getting used to the feeling. She rubbed her thighs against each other anxiously, with an undignified whimper she was glad no one could hear.

She sat like this for what felt like a lifetime.

Finally she began to feel quite ridiculous. I mean, she'd felt odd before but now she was certain she'd been made a fool of. After a moment of hesitation, she dared to peek under the blindfold only to be presented with her room as dark and empty as she remembered it to be before she'd put the stupid cloth over her eyes so many years ago. Through the darkness she could just make out the time on her clock: 10:30-something; not decades after all. Still, she'd been sitting there for hours with nothing to show but a dusting of goose bumps on her skin and an embarrassing wet spot where she was sitting.

Lucy was inclined to take off the blindfold entirely, slip on some pajamas, and head off to sleep (much needed after Natsu's earlier bullshit), yet a stronger part of her feared such disobedience would lose her the opportunity to acquire the key with minimal monetary losses. And she was hoping Laxus would show up and fuck her senseless. _No I'm not! I have no interest in that brute,_ she lied to herself as her core throbbed.

After an agonizing internal struggle between her desire for key-acquisition and snoozes, she decided to slip the blindfold back down and wait a bit longer while hoping she didn't just fall asleep with her eyes covered—a real possibility at this point.

Another lifetime of waiting passed. Her senses continued to strain as they had before, searching so desperately for some sign of someone approaching that she was convinced she'd imagined at least half of everything she perceived, though the wanton moans of her landlady down the hall were too disturbing to be bred in her mind. She had no idea what time it was now and could feel herself slipping into blissful sleep, still sitting upright on the bed.

"You really are awful at this whole obedience thing." Laxus' deep voice rang through the room suddenly, making Lucy jump and squeal most unbecomingly. How had she not heard him enter when she had literally nothing else to do except listen for him? She realized at that point that she must have fallen asleep, though she had no recollection of the matter. Unsure of what to say, she kept quiet, which worked just as well as he began to speak again.

"First, you're five minutes late, something you should have fully anticipated when you set out with that dumb ash-brain for a mission. Then, you dare to directly disobey my orders and peek out of the blindfold; that would be strike two. And then you at last have the gall to fall asleep, strike three. Have you anything to say for yourself?"

Lucy honestly didn't mean to do it, but it was so late and she was so _tired_ that… she yawned. She heard a low growl, prefaced by the shortest of chuckles, before large, rough hands pushed her back onto the bed making her gasp. She heard and felt the creak of the bed beneath her as Laxus strattled her. He smelled of lightning, if that makes any sense, which Lucy wasn't quite sure it did. Nothing really made sense anymore. She was so sleepy and horny, scared and excited, a little hungry, and her cunt nearly _burned_ with a desire that bordered on pain.

"Am I boring you, blondie?" Laxus asked in a dangerously low voice.

"No," Lucy grinned. The sleepiness and desire took the edge off her fear leaving something resembling recklessness behind.

"No…?" Laxus led.

"No, _sir_ ," she responded, her voice as dripping with sarcasm was as her vagina was with other things.

"Cheeky." She could hear the smile on Laxus's lips. "I am going to have to punish you for this, you know."

"Yes, _master_ ," she said before stifling another yawn.

"In fact I think I'm going to have to punish you all night for your numerous offenses. Only good girls get to sleep." That gave Lucy pause as the word "punishment" once again reverberated in her head. She would just have to spend all of tomorrow sleeping. For now, she had to focus on minimizing whatever punishment Laxus had planned for her.

"Y-yes, sir," she replied with as little sarcasm as she could possibly manage and a sobriety lacking from her drowsy speech earlier.

Suddenly she felt his lips on her neck, surprisingly soft for a man so rough in every other aspect. He licked and sucked up her neck and jaw, back and forth, teasing her. If she thought the day had been long, it was going to be nothing compared to her night. Slowly she reached up and laced her fingers into Laxus's soft hair. _Another soft trait_ , she thought. However, he quickly reached up and pinned her hands to the bed beside her head, tsking at her.

"I don't remember giving you permission to touch me," he said sneeringly and she pouted. However, puckering her lips seemed to have the wrong effect as he hastily swooped down and devoured them. Those lips, which were feathers on her neck and jaw, lost all gentleness as they smashed against her own, prying her mouth open hungrily to make way for his eager tongue. His intense kiss sent a shiver down her neck and spine which travelled directly to her core like some sort of erotic telegram tapping Morse code straight into her clit. She couldn't touch him so she settled for playing along, wrestling his tongue down with her own in a battle of dominance and occasionally thrusting her hips up animalistically hoping to rub against something. Still blindfolded, she could only feel him smile against her lips as they continued their game, and soon she realized she was smiling too.

 _There's no way I'm actually interested in Laxus!_ she declared to herself, writing her current interest off as a side-effect of the powder she'd consumed though she knew that wasn't quite it.

Without warning, Laxus's lips were gone from her mouth leaving it feeling uncomfortably cool and empty. She felt something press against her bottom lip, wiping residual saliva off—his thumb. Then a shock, not quite painful, just unexpected, elicited a startled yelp from her. Laxus chuckled sadistically. She heard him shift his weight a bit before lifting her up by her waist and turning her so her head was on her pillows and he was perched above her. When she was settled, his hands smoothly transitioned from her waist to her well-developed breasts, teasing her already erect nipples. He shocked her again, this time on her pink buds, and she moaned.

"Laxus," she groaned, whether in pain or pleasure she couldn't quite tell as they were starting to become the same thing.

He rubbed his hips against her own, letting her feel how affected he was through his pants, which were becoming uncomfortably tight. That action elicited yet another moan and he dove down to suck on one of her nipples. Lucy tried to hold back her noises, but between her exhaustion and arousal couldn't find the ability to do the job properly. Laxus continued to tease her breasts, switching between electric tingles and tongue-lapping while Lucy groaned and gasped beneath him.

"Please…Laxus…"

"Hmm?" he grunted into her breast, the vibrations sending another jolt down to her core.

"M-master…please…Put it in…" Though utterly out of her mind, she had enough decency left to blush profusely at her demand, though not enough to revoke it outright. Laxus laughed at her desperation, making her blush even deeper.

"I guess that powder worked even better than I thought," he said.

"Wh-what was it?" Lucy gasped. Perhaps whatever she'd been feeling for Laxus really was just a delusion brought on by the mysterious substance, a thought that secretly made her a bit sad.

"An aphrodisiac concentrate I picked up from some magical vendor in a port town a few miles away. It just makes you really horny, though I'm sure you figured that out already," he laughed. The possibility that her growing interest in Laxus was a drugged effect still remained, but with no way to tell at the moment, Lucy decided to just go with it and sort out her feelings later.

"Now flip onto your hands and knees. I'm gonna fuck you," he demanded crudely, something Lucy found she didn't mind at all. She did as instructed, taking care not to hit her head on her bedframe she couldn't see, while she heard him removing the last of his clothing.

Without any preparation, he thrust himself into her, though as wet as she was additional lubrication was thoroughly unnecessary. Once fully sheathed, he stayed there for a moment so she could get used to his size, and bent over so his chest was hovering just above her back, grazing it with each inhale. He brushed her hair to the side so it hung by her face, and planted soft kisses along her neck and shoulders as he began slowly pumping into her, finding a natural rhythm. His sheer size made her moan unseemingly, arching her head back next to his as he hit her sensitive spot inside over and over again. He as well couldn't help but to let slip various grunts and groans as her warm insides tightened around him, sucking him in with each thrust. One hand moved to massage her breasts as he ground his hardness into her with increasing ferocity while the other strained to keep himself form crushing her.

"Lucy," he groaned into her neck, sucking hard and making a dark spot she was sure she'd have to cover with make up tomorrow.

He shifted again, standing upright on his knees and gripping her hips almost painfully as he repeatedly pulled out to the tip and slammed his large cock into her. Lucy silently prayed all of her neighbors were fast asleep because otherwise they were most certainly putting on a show. She moaned loudly as she neared her climax.

"L-Laxus!" He grunted in response.

"Me too," he said, thrusting into her with indecent haste.

"You can… _nng_ … come inside… _aah_ … _ha_ …I have…m-medicine," she managed. "Laxus!" she cried, as she broke into a thousand pieces, shattering all over the bed. Distantly she heard him groan his release and felt his hot seed spurt into her. Both of them crashed onto the bed, breathing heavily, and Lucy was surprised to find herself still in one piece as her heart slowed its racing.

After lying there for a moment, she felt Laxus pull out and flip her onto her back where he unexpectedly thrust back into her as large as he was before, making her gasp in surprise. Suddenly he pulled the blindfold off. Lucy's eyes quickly adjusted to the dark room and she saw Laxus smiling down at her with odd affection before capturing her lips with his own and beginning his steady thrusting rhythm again.

They continued this pattern of unrelenting fuckery until the edge of the sky turned pink, making Lucy suspect she hadn't been the only one to ingest that aphrodisiac that day. By the time dawn was approaching, Lucy was convinced she would never walk again and instead spend the rest of her life sleeping. Her body was simultaneously numb and sore from the shocks, pain, and pleasure that had kept her up all night. When they finished for the last time, Lucy fell asleep before Laxus even had the chance to pull out. Laxus smiled down at her before going to clean himself off. He wiped her down with a cloth as well, gently cleansing her of their lewd activities before slipping them both into their underwear, snuggling against her back, and following her into dreamland.


	3. Day 3- Going Downstairs Upstairs

**Thanks for all the support so far! I'm sorry it takes so long between chapters. I wish I had a good excuse, but honestly getting myself to sit down and write is the hardest part of writing. XD I hope y'all enjoy, and like always I appreciate any feedback!**

* * *

Lucy could see the afternoon light streaming through her window curtains behind her eyelids as she roused from the deepest sleep she'd ever fallen into, but was still too exhausted to fully wake. She shifted her body slightly, groaning at the soreness that permeated each limb as a spiteful reminder of the previous night's activities. Suddenly, she became aware of a weight pinning down her waist and a warmth most indecorously pressed against her bare back. She flung her eyes open without hesitation (a decision her pupils punished her for until they graciously adjusted to the midday light) and looked behind her to see the quite naked lightning dragon slayer still fast asleep in her bed, his arm draped across her. She promptly blushed a deep crimson as if she still possessed the right to blush after her wild night. However, she couldn't help feeling a bit startled; she hadn't realized he was actually staying over.

 _He was probably just too tired to leave,_ she thought. After all, why else would he stay?

Lucy smiled slightly as she looked down at him. Despite his thunderstorm personality, he looked so peaceful and uninhibited as he wrapped around her. His normally tensed face was relaxed and he looked…cute. _Laxus cute?_ she scoffed at herself.

Determined to stop acting stupid (a noble, yet hopeless quest), Lucy lightly crawled out of the bed and headed to wash off her sins…or at least some of the dried sweat and Mavis knows what else. The hot water threatened to put her back to sleep so she quickly scrubbed down before turning it to a temperature only Gray could find enjoyable, brutally jolting herself awake. After her shower she dressed herself in some comfortable house clothes then headed out to make breakfast, praying Laxus was still asleep; she wasn't quite ready to face him.

To her relief, the dragon slayer was still asleep and didn't even stir when she accidentally slammed the bathroom door shut. If not for the light snoring, she might have thought he was dead. She walk to the kitchen and began making a simple breakfast ( _I guess it's lunch, isn't it?_ ) for two, using the few ingredients she could always trust Natsu not to touch: oatmeal and fruit.

As she worked, her mind kept replaying the scenes of the night before. Laxus had said it was punishment (and surely her body was sore enough to testify in his favor), however she had not found it unbearable. Rather, she shamefully admitted, she had really liked it. As their bodies had weakened over the hours of taxing pleasure, she felt that their souls, if you will, bared themselves to one another. What was supposed to be meaningless sex, mere payment for a key to the celestial world, had been a key to the heavens in itself, an almost spiritual, intimate experience that left her both exhilarated and confused.

 _I'm not in love with him_ , she protested. _It's just a chemical thing, a sex high_. At least, that's what she told herself, so that should Laxus wake up completely unaffected she wouldn't break her heart over a man who truly just saw her as a hot, convenient piece of ass. She couldn't place herself in the line of fire by admitting how afraid she was he wouldn't reciprocate her feelings. Besides, they were so…different. Not quite opposites like Natsu and Gray, but just an odd pairing, like two foods that don't quite belong together.

"What are you making?" a deep voice asked from the doorway, making Lucy jump and drop a piece of mango on the floor.

"The only food Natsu was kind enough to leave me," Lucy said as she picked the fruit off the floor. Laxus frowned at the mention of the fire dragon slayer. "It's almost ready. You want some?"

Laxus nodded curtly and sat down at her table. He looked like an adult in a child's playhouse amongst her things, but she politely stifled a giggle and ladled two bowls of oatmeal, topping it off with the fruit.

"He comes over often, then?" Laxus asked, trying to sound nonchalant and succeeding…mostly.

"More often than I probably know," Lucy said, trying to pry at the hint of jealousy she thought she may have possibly detected in his voice. "I'm pretty sure I feed the two of us and more than once I've gone to bed only to find him sprawled across it. He claims it's more comfortable than his bed, though I suspect that's because he sleeps in a hammock."

"Hm," Laxus replied.

"Although," Lucy continued, "Natsu can't take all the blame. Gray also steals my food, and has an awful habit of reading my manuscripts while he does it. They're like rats that poke around your personal life as well as your pantry." Laxus chuckled at that.

"How do they get in? You didn't…um…give them keys, did you?" Laxus stared at his oatmeal as he spoke.

"The fools climb through the window, though how they do that is beyond me. I suspect Happy flies Natsu up and Gray makes an ice ladder, but I haven't been able to catch them in the act."

"You're all very close, aren't you?

"You could say that. Natsu helped me join the guild, and Gray's been with us since the beginning. We work well together, even if Natsu and Gray act like idiots most of the time."

 _Idiots._ Laxus liked hearing her describe her young, attractive male partners as such. "That's because they _are_ idiots," he muttered under his breath.

"What about Raijinshuu? I suppose you are almost like family at this point," Lucy asked.

"We're definitely a tight squad, though I sometimes wish the others would learn to be a bit more independent. I often feel less like a friend and more like some kind of ruler," Laxus grimaced.

"I'd have thought you'd prefer to be a ruler to a friend," Lucy said.

"Well you'd be wrong." Laxus gazed straight at Lucy, making her blush and shove her face into her food. Lucy's head was spinning with the surrealness of the moment: the oversized lightning mage squished into her dainty kitchen eating oatmeal and interrogating her on her partners. "Go put on some shoes, we're going out," he said suddenly, jolting Lucy out of her daydreaming.

"Out?"

"Yes, as in outside. We're going to the guild so people don't think you've been kidnapped. Or are you too sore to walk that far?" he asked deviously, with his face straight but a slight cock to his eyebrow and a mischievous gleam in his eyes at the prospect of his prey too weakened to move.

"I'm fine!" Lucy declared, making a point to walk as normally as possible as she dumped their dishes in the sink and headed to her closet. She changed into her normal skirted outfit and took deep breaths as she met Laxus by the door, determined not to show any weakness. _Pain? Who's in pain? Not me, that's for sure._

The odd, blonde couple walked down the canal towards the guild in silence, each step an uncomfortable reminder that Lucy hadn't fully obeyed the powerhouse next to her the day before, something she decided she would blame Natsu for since he was such an easy target after delaying their trip. Laxus glanced down at her every few minutes with an irritating smirk on his face, but Lucy was resolved to let nothing show, completely forgetting about the dragon slayer's heightened senses that caught her subtle sharp breaths, nearly silent groans, and pallor complexion.

"You sure you're alright?" Laxus asked again as the guild came into sight, eyes still grinning but with a hint of true concern in his voice.

"I'm wonderful," Lucy replied stiffly.

"I'm not sure we should walk in together. Y'know, if we wanted to keep… _this_ … quiet…" Laxus said.

Lucy's heart fell slightly. "Quiet, yes that's probably best. But nobody will think we're arriving together if I just head over to my friends. Just that we got here at the same time."

"Right," Laxus said, sounding a bit off. Surely he hadn't actually wanted to walk in together as a couple… _It's just a temporary arrangement, nothing more—to him anyway._ She shook her head slightly as if to rid the thought from her brain as they walked through the guild doors.

She scanned the room and found her team lounging in their usual spot in a very idle way. She sometimes wondered if they ever actually did anything when she wasn't around. As she headed over to them, still focusing on making her stride as unremarkable as possible, she saw Laxus head over to the second floor, stopping briefly at the bar to talk to Mira.

"We were starting to think your date kidnapped you," said Gray as the celestial mage walked up.

"How'd it go?" Erza asked, mouth full of cake.

"Better than expected," Lucy said as she took her place next to Natsu, feeling her answer was true enough. The pinkette immediately sniffed her ( _Hadn't anyone ever told him that was rude?_ ), and glared slightly as he noticed the other slayer's scent hiding under her shampoo.

"So who's the mystery man?" he asked, turning to Lucy and plastering his trademark grin on his face as the others continued their earlier conversation.

"That's none of your business," Lucy replied, aware the fire mage already knew who it was.

"I just want to make sure he's good for you!" Natsu replied innocently, draping an arm across her shoulders and ruffling her hair playfully. "Y'know, someone who's not too old or too rough. Too…lightningy," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Like I said, it's none of your business," she said defensively.

"Of course it's not. I just don't want to see you get played over by some man-whore," he said quietly. Lucy pushed his arm off of her roughly and glared.

"I can take care of myself," she said, loud enough to catch the other's attentions.

"What's going on?" Erza asked suspiciously.

"Nothing. Natsu's just poking in where he's not wanted," Lucy said blushing fiercely. Erza glared at the dragon slayer admonishingly while Gray gave him a look Lucy couldn't quite read.

"I just don't want her to get hurt," Natsu said, trying to downplay the situation. Despite his unwarranted interference, his voice sounded sincere.

"That's none of his-" Lucy began, but was cutoff.

"Blondie!" a deep voice rang over the hall. The startled group looked up to see Laxus leaning on the second floor railing and summoning the celestial mage with a coaxing finger. Lucy felt Natsu stiffen slightly, but ignored him and (as quickly as her sore arse could move) ran up the stairs. She waited hesitantly at the top of the stairs, unsure if she was welcome to the S-level lounge.

"It's fine," Laxus reassured her and she stepped in. It was nothing particularly outstanding; just a few tables and chairs with the S-level quests posted on the wall. Still, it felt so exclusive.

"I thought you didn't want to associate yourself with me," Lucy said with a slight bite in her voice.

"We're going on a mission. Tomorrow," he said, handing her a piece of paper that she quickly scanned over.

"Celestial summoner requested," she read and looked up. "That's not very specif-"

She broke off as Laxus suddenly attacked her mouth, his lips crashing against hers. One hand snaked around her waist while the other laced into her golden locks, both working to eliminate any space between the two mages. He pulled back for a breath, his blue eyes staring hotly down into her dewy brown ones. He walked her backwards until her back hit the table, then went in again, this time much gentler. He sucked on her bottom lip and traced it with his tongue before pressing back into her mouth. Meanwhile, without giving much thought to any of it, Lucy reached up and wrapped her arms around Laxus's neck, pulling on him as if they could possibly get any closer.

Laxus pulled back again for another breath, then returned, this time kissing along her jawline to her ear, which he bit lightly making Lucy gasp before trailing down to her neck. He attached himself to her, sucking hard so that a small purple mark would soon follow.

"L-Laxus! Someone might walk in!" Lucy said, attempting to hold on to some sense of decorum. After all, they were in the guild of all places!

"No one ever comes up here but me," he said into her neck. Slowly he lowered her down so that her back was on the table and he towered over her. "But today you're gonna _come_ up here," he taunted, then went back to work on her neck.

Lucy stifled her light moans and gasps as he clumsily unbuttoned her shirt and then lowered his kisses down her torso to her flat stomach. She was taken aback by his tenderness, but still groaned slightly as her sore muscles protested her position. Laxus moved his hands lightly up and down her body, massaging her gently.

"I know you're sore," he said. "You were so amazing last night there's no way you couldn't be, but I don't think I like having you in too much pain." His hands continued down her torso to her legs before stroking back up along the outer thigh while his lips sucked up small red marks on her stomach. "I prefer to watch you drown in pleasure," he said into her lower stomach.

Suddenly his fingers hooked around the sides of her panties and he fell to his knees, pulling them down with him. He lifted her legs up onto his shoulders, making Lucy gasp loudly.

"La-Laxus! What're you—"

"Ssshhhh," he said, his pale blue eyes glinting up at her. "You wouldn't want to alarm the poor people downstairs," he smiled before leaning in and burying his face in the patch of blonde curls that surrounded her core.

"Laxus! Don't! It's em-embarrassing!" Lucy turned as red as Erza's hair as she watched the blonde head nuzzle into her most private parts.

"Do you really want me to stop?" he said, his voice deep and lusty. Lucy somehow blushed deeper as he gazed up at her from underneath her skirt. He looked damn sexy, she had to admit, but despite all his confidence she could sense a slight hesitation. She knew if she asked him to, he would stop like he said he would. That thought made her relax a bit. She looked down at him and shook her head slightly.

She felt rather than saw him smile. He promptly licked up the length of her core, stopping to suck on her little pearl of sensitivity. Lucy could feel herself getting wetter by the second, but it felt too good for her to care. He ran his tongue all over her, sucking, licking, and nipping at her clit while he worked. She reached down and laced her fingers in his hair, pressing him closer against her with one hand while the other lodged itself against her mouth, trying to quiet her crescendoing moans.

Laxus lavished in her scent. He'd been down on a few girls before, and while their scent had been bearable Lucy's scent was more than just tolerable. She smelled so…good! And he wanted that scent all over him. He breathed her in deeply as he kissed her wet opening, then stuck his tongue into her soft folds.

"Oh god!" he heard her moan above him, and couldn't help but to smile. He kept his tongue inside of her, diving as deeply into her warmth as he could while he heard the busty blonde try to stifle her sounds above him. He wished they weren't in the guild so he could hear her scream openly at the pleasure he lathered up and down her slit. Remembering they were in the guild, he pulled back slightly to sniff the air and make sure no one decided to start visiting the second floor now of all times. He wouldn't let anyone else see Lucy like this.

"Aaah…nng…haa…"

Lucy's poorly stifled moans washed over him, making him groan as he felt his arousal harden. The vibrations against her core had an immediate effect.

"Laxus, I'm gonna—" He groaned his approval into her, sending her flying over the edge. Her orgasm shook her down like an earthquake originating deep within her. She pressed her hand against her mouth and tightened her throat in a vain attempt to quiet herself. Laxus continued to lick her clean, sending jilting aftershocks as his tongue teased her sensitive clit.

Lucy relaxed against the table and stared at the ceiling as she fought to catch her breath. Laxus, meanwhile, pulled her panties back up her legs to their original resting place over her ass, kissing her one last time before standing up. He leaned over Lucy and buttoned her shirt back up, then grabbed her hand and pulled her up until she was once again sitting upright on the table. Unsure of what to say, Lucy just stared into space, her cheeks burning.

"Meet me at the station tomorrow morning at 7. There should be a train leaving around that time," Laxus said, folding the mission paper absently. _Is he blushing?_ "I'm going to go tell Mira."

Lucy watched in awe as the big, scary dragon slayer headed downstairs, his cheeks blazing through the scowl on his face. She also didn't miss the hardened member he tried to conceal. Was he afraid she was too sore to do anything else? It seemed so different from the man who ordered her to suck him off two nights ago. Yet Lucy smiled to herself as she straightened her clothes and walked down to rejoin her friends, thinking that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't so unaffected by their night together after all.


	4. Day 4 Part 1- The Mission

**Guys, I know I'm awful. I've just been lazy and distracted this month, but I'll try to get it together for y'all here on out. I've had this written for like two weeks now and was waiting for when I'd sit down and finish the damn chapter, but that apparently isn't happening right now so I decided to just post what I have.**

 **So this is part 1 (hence why it's so short). I hope you like it, though there's no sexy fun in this chapter so far (that's part 2). As always I love the feedback! Thanks so much for reading!**

* * *

Lucy felt as if she barely slept a wink the night before her mission with Laxus. The events in the guild earlier that day kept playing in her head. After Laxus had…..ehem…she had rejoined her friends, who all seemed more than a bit curious at his having called her upstairs. She had explained that he needed a celestial summoner for a mission. "Oh that makes sense," Erza had said, and they moved on to the next topic of interest.

Lucy wasn't sure why that bothered her.

In truth, she didn't want them to be in her business, judging her, but the utter lack of speculation about what was going on between her and Laxus was simply unsatisfying. No one teased her that Laxus fancied her or thought she was hot. It was like it was so far out of the realm of possibility that it wasn't even a good joke. Like what else could he possibly want to do with her other than use her unique power? Natsu was the only one who seemed to realize something was up, but he respectfully dropped it after his first mini-intervention. Though by the looks exchanged between him and Gray, Lucy suspected the ice mage would be on board soon enough.

As Lucy tracked the moon across the sky from her pillow, the question her mind kept returning to was why? Why did it bother her that her friends didn't think of them as a potential couple? Even she had to admit they were a crack ship if ever one existed, so different in every way except hair color. It was like pairing up Erza and Max or Natsu and Mira, just…wrong. So why was she even attracted to him in the first place? In all honesty, she knew she wouldn't have taken his deal if it had been just anyone. She wasn't _that_ desperate for the key. But if it wasn't about the key, then what was it? They had had one actual, full length, personal conversation the whole time she'd known him, and yet she felt so much closer than that. She wanted to know more about him, everything. She didn't even find him to be the pinnacle of male beauty; too muscly. Yet she wanted those muscles wrapped around her as she slept, gently pressing her against his tattooed chest…

At some point in her musing, she fell asleep, yet her mind kept going without her so that she didn't even realize she was sleeping until she woke up the next morning.

* * *

Lucy got to the station well before the agreed meeting time, yet when she arrived a certain dragon slayer was already pacing back and forth outside the station. If she didn't know better, she'd have thought he looked nervous.

"You okay?" Lucy asked, startling him out of his tense ambulating.

"Ye-yeah," he said, still slightly frazzled. "Just waiting for you to finally show up," he said irritably, though Lucy could tell it was just cover up.

"Of course," she smirked.

"You sure you want to do this? It is actually an S-level mission, and I don't want you to push yourself," Laxus said.

"Pushing myself is how I get stronger," she chastised. "Besides, it's not the first S-level mission I've been on," she said, her mind recalling Natsu's crazy plan that landed them on a cursed island. "And I've got you for all the leg work."

She smiled up at Laxus and winked playfully, making the older mage turn sharply away to hide his own childish smile. Scary dragon slayers aren't supposed smile like that.

"Let's go then. There's a train about to leave," and he walked off without looking back at her. She slung her bag over her shoulder and pranced off after him, still smiling and humming slightly. And just for a moment, she didn't really care why.

* * *

The mission ended up being disappointingly mundane. Turns out some member of the aristocracy was also a celestial summoner, all silver keys, though. He and one of his spirits _were_ engaged to be married (a choice Lucy found a bit irresponsible as a key holder), that is, until he said something stupid and the spirit locked herself in the celestial world. He had just wanted someone to get in touch with his fiancée and play couple's therapist. The S-level labeling was merely for discretion.

Lucy used Capricorn to get in touch with the girl despite Loke's protestations that it should be him as leader of the Zodiac. Last thing she needed was the playboy lion seducing the poor girl, though he claimed he would never betray his darling master like that. Lucy was touched to see that his comments got a glare out of Laxus before she forced the lion's gate shut.

"He's sure attached to you," Laxus grumbled.

"Unfortunately he's pretty useful in fights so I can't just lock him in a drawer somewhere," she said back as way of apology, though technically no apology was required.

Besides that one exchange, Laxus didn't say much. He felt more like her body guard than her partner, especially when they had first gotten sight of the young, handsome nobleman who, despite his distress at quarreling with his fiancée, couldn't help but flirt with the cute celestial mage a bit. As Lucy would later find out, this habit for flirting was part of the reason the spirit locked herself away in the first place. He was like a human Loke.

The Fairy Tail mages were pretty sure warring countries had drafted peace treaties faster than this couple made up. Literal hours of grueling, persistent negotiations passed before the girl agreed to come out. Sending Capricorn back and forth so many times nearly drained Lucy of her energy, but finally the young couple were able to talk face to face. Once that happened, the wedding was back on within minutes and the two couldn't be separated. Lucy had fought battles before that left her more energetic than this, but at least they got paid well. Laxus insisted she keep most of the money (a fair amount, thanks to the desperate aristocrat) since she had done most of the work, but Lucy insisted they split it evenly. After all, without him she never would have been able to take the job in the first place.

When they left the estate the sun was already rushing towards the horizon so they headed to the village a few miles over to stay at an inn. Lucy's gait was staggered and slow from her magical exertion all day, but she refused to let Laxus carry her. She refused to be as weak as she knew everyone thought she was.

The walk was quite a long one. Laxus knew Lucy was too proud to let him help her, so instead he tried to engage her in conversation to take her mind off of how tired she was.

"Have you ever fucked Loke?" _Shit._ Not what he wanted to say. Lucy stumbled a bit and looked up, not sure if she was more outraged or shocked. However one glance at his blood red face was enough to quell her anger and replace it with amusement.

"No. As a rule I don't engage in intimate relationships with my spirits. I found it a bit distasteful that our client hadn't done the same," she answered honestly.

"Why is that?" Laxus asked. Sure, the question had been a slip, but it was still interesting.

"The celestial spirits are compelled to obey their masters. If I had a relationship with any of them, I would never know if it was truly consensual or not. They're also immortal, so if anything really serious developed he would stay young as I grew older and eventually died. It's not fair to him and the relationship would be strained in the long term."

"Huh, I hadn't thought of that."

"There's also simple logistical issues like where to live and the time differences. But that's not the main issue."

"What's the main issue?" Laxus asked. Was there something worse than all that?

Lucy looked up and smiled coyly at Laxus. "I'm not in love with Loke."

Laxus stopped in his tracks as Lucy continued on, his heart pounding loudly. He was supposed to be the master here, so why did he feel so utterly powerless before this girl? She was beautiful, sure, but so were millions of other girls, none of whom could play with him like Lucy did. She was smart and strong. Maybe she wasn't very powerful, but she had an inner strength that Laxus admired. She was loyal to her friends, something he envied. He wanted her loyalty, though he knew that was something one earned, not something one could buy. And he didn't want to buy it. He wanted to have her heart and know that he'd truly earned it.

He just couldn't tell her that yet.

He shook himself out of his reverie and jogged to catch up to the swaggering mage.

"You've never had a boyfriend," he said, slightly breathlessly. "That's what the girls in the guild always say."

"Is there a question there?" Lucy asked trepidatiously.

"Well I'm pretty sure you weren't a virgin when I found you," he said, wanting to kick himself with every word that came out, but he had been waiting to ask this for four days. No… much longer than that. "I just—I just wondered if…there's anyone important?"

He half expected her to blow up in his face. It really wasn't any of his business. Who was he to ask her about that kind of thing when all he'd done was blackmail her into fucking him? His master plan was suddenly starting to seem like a genuinely awful idea.

Lucy was quiet for a minute before she answered. This whole conversation was so strange. Was he really interested in her? Or did he just want to make sure no angry boyfriends were going to come flying at him? She wanted to be honest with him, tell him that maybe she wanted more from him than a celestial key, but what if he didn't feel the same way? Though she'd never experienced heartbreak before, she'd read enough to know it didn't interest her.

"I…" she started, but was spared the rest of her reply by suddenly passing out from magic depletion.

Laxus stared in horror as the stellar mage dropped to the ground. Panicked, he checked her pulse, but upon finding she was in perfect apparent health (except for consciousness), he sighed loudly and shook his head at himself. He should have insisted that she let him carry her earlier, but at least he could do it now, and so he did.

As the town came into view, the summoner's surprisingly heavy body draped across Laxus's back, he thought over their humiliating conversation. _WHAT WAS I THINKING?!_ He wanted to strike himself with his own lightning for his stupidity, even more so when he thought about how smug he was to know she had no interest for the lion spirit. Nor did it seem she was particularly attached to either Natsu or Gray beyond being friends and partners. He wished she'd stayed awake at least long enough to answer his last question, though. He needed to know if there was someone else. Because although he really didn't want to have to compete with some other fool, he would compete if he had to. And he would win. Because he refused to lose his mate to anyone.


	5. Day 4 Part 2- A Starry Night

**An update already? Must be a badly timed Christmas miracle! (Don't get used to it. lol)  
** **Anyway, here's pt. 2 of chapter 4. Thank you so much for all the feedback! It's so incredibly encouraging and makes me look forward to writing even more! I never imagined my silly crack-ship story would merit over 200 followers, so thanks sooooo much for reading.**

* * *

Lucy slowly opened her eyes. Her whole body was aching like she'd run a marathon, making her groan slightly as she sat up. The room she was in was pretty nice for a small town inn, with pretty wooden furniture and a big, comfy bed that she was currently occupying in some pajamas she didn't remember changing into. She glanced around, still a bit confused, until she saw the tell-tale black coat sitting in the corner. _That's right, I came here with Laxus_ , she thought, recalling the mission they'd been on. Then she remembered the conversation they'd been having right before she blacked out from magic deprivation. A crimson sear spread across her cheeks.

 _Is there anyone important_ , he'd asked. Why couldn't she just say no? It was the truth! Sure, she'd slept with a few guys in random towns while on missions, but it was more out of curiosity than anything. No one else had really caught her fancy, nor, apparently, she theirs. She loved Natsu and Gray both, obviously, but not like _that_. She loved them the same way she loved Erza or Wendy; they were precious nakama that she'd do anything to protect. But she couldn't imagine doing the kinds of things she had done with Laxus with either of them.

Deep down, Lucy knew that the real truth was that she was scared of her feelings for Laxus. Never having been in a relationship before left her extremely self-conscious and guarded. What if he didn't like her back? But even worse, what if he did? She loved to read stories about romance and all that, but the idea of actually being in a relationship scared her. What if she messed it up? Or what if he decided she wasn't as good as he thought she was? She would be opening herself up to a whole new level of vulnerability she wasn't sure she was ready for.

The stellar mage was pulled out of her dizzying thoughts by the creak of the bathroom door. Laxus walked out accompanied by billowing steam that hinted at the nearly boiling shower he just got out of. His hair was wet, soft droplets of water occasionally dripping down onto his bare chest and the towel carelessly hung around his neck. Lucy pinched herself for the slightly disappointed sigh she gave when she saw he was wearing pants. His face remained emotionless as he sauntered over to the bed. Placing a large, warm hand on Lucy's forehead, he checked for any remaining fever and grunted in approval when he detected none.

"Drink that," he said, pointing to a glass of water and some tablets sitting on the bed-side table. Lucy was quick to follow instructions, gulping down the bitter tablets. Instantly she felt a wave of energy pass through her.

"What is it?"

"…," Laxus paused for a moment. "I'm not entirely sure, actually."

"What do you mean you're not sure?!" Lucy half-screamed. Maybe blindly taking orders from him wasn't the best idea.

"I got them from Freed. They help with the after-shock of deprivation. He said he thought it'd be a good idea for me to carry them around with me. Something about going overboard…" he muttered, and Lucy giggled. In their reluctance to recognize their own limits, the fire and lightning dragon slayers weren't all too different.

"How do you feel?" he asked. Lucy couldn't help but notice the absence of his usual resident smirk. Was he mad at her for being such a burden?

"I feel fine. Great, actually!" she insisted, ignoring the throb of her head. It was embarrassing enough to pass out without complaining about it too. She flashed him a Natsu-worthy grin, as if that would somehow corroborate her story.

"Hn…" Laxus grunted in distrust. He stared at her intensely, making her smile falter until it was nothing more than a weak, unconvincing upturn of the mouth. At last, she gave it up and looked down in shame.

"I'm…sorry," she said quietly.

Laxus's eyes widened in shock and his breathing hitched. "For what?!" he exclaimed.

"For making you take care of me after I ran out of power like that," she hurried. "I shouldn't have come with you for an S-level mission. Luckily the job today wasn't particularly dangerous, but if it had been I would have just slowed you down. Even the jobs I take with Team Natsu are often out of my skill set. I'm just lucky to have everyone else—"

"Shut up," Laxus said roughly, and Lucy almost bit her tongue in shock.

"So-sorry," she stuttered.

"And stop apologizing!" he yelled, making her cower slightly back into the pillows. She lifted her head and saw him staring right at her, but instead of anger his eyes were filled with…pain? He sighed heavily and placed his head in his hand, distressed.

"You're not useless, and you're not just lucky. Sure, you're not the most powerful mage in the guild, but you're definitely not weak. You managed to use your spirits for hours on end today. Even I can't just rain down lightning all day. But you're more than just your power. All I do is use brute force to take an enemy down, but you're smarter than that. You know which spirits are best for which situation. You can quickly process who gets along with who or who is available according to your contracts, and at the same time you devise strategies to get the most out of your attack. And even further," he continued, hardly drawing a breath, "you are kind. Your spirits respect you in a way few people are ever respected. As do your friends. As do I."

Lucy could hardly breathe. He…respected her?

"You're with Team Natsu for a reason, Lucy. Those idiots would be so lost without you," he chuckled. _And so would I_ , he wanted to say, but held back, not wanting to take advantage of her emotional state.

Lucy sniffled lightly and smiled gently at him. She nodded her head once, blushing fiercely, then turned her gaze to the window. The stars above were shining brilliantly as if to agree with everything the dragon slayer just said. She knew he was right (though she wasn't sure she was really _that_ smart), but it was still hard for her to accept. After years of being told she was inadequate by the father who neglected her, part of her had come to believe it. Old habits die hard.

"We should sleep," Laxus said. "Check out is at 11." He walked to the opposite side of the bed and stripped off his pants unceremoniously. Clad only in his underwear, he slid into the bed next to an ogling Lucy and turned off the light. "Come here," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," she said, scooting over until she felt his arms wrap around her lithe frame and pull her in tighter.

"Just call me Laxus," he said, only too aware of how unfitting his previous game of master and slave was.

"Yes, Laxus," she repeated. Her light voice sent chills through his body, and the unshed tears that leaked onto his chest nearly broke his heart. _How can she not see how incredible she is?_ She felt so fragile in his arms, but he knew it was a deception. She was the one with the power to crush him.

Lucy snuggled into Laxus's chest, savoring the feeling of his strong arms around her. His breathing was steady, but in her advantageous position she could feel his heart beating out of control. That was all the confirmation she needed to not be afraid anymore.

"There's no one," she said.

"Huh?" Laxus asked, confused. He lifted his head up slightly to look into her moon-lit eyes.

"You asked if there was anyone…important to me. Right before I passed out. Well…there's no one. There never has been," she admitted.

Laxus didn't know what to say, but he wanted to dance around the room in a very un-dragon slayer-like way. All he could do at that moment was smile, and that smile of genuine happiness was enough for the beautiful woman in his arms. Lucy reached one hand up and slid it into his hair. Slowly bringing herself up and the dragon slayer's head down, she kissed him so softly Laxus felt as if he were kissing air. And like air, he needed her.

Lucy wasn't sure if the need for more was her own or something she sensed from Laxus, but she responded aptly, pushing him back into the pillows while she moved to straddle his hips, the whole while never even breaking for a breath. She ran her fingers through his short hair while his hands pulled her in so that she might be just a little bit closer. While their other kisses had hinted at something more than a business transaction, this kiss screamed it.

Finally they broke, gasping for air. Lucy's head was still pounding slightly from the magic deprivation earlier, but the pounding of her heart overrode it. She looked down into the blue eyes that were staring lustfully back. No…lovingly. Laxus didn't just want her body tonight, he wanted her soul.

They stared at each other for eons, memorizing every feature, every breath, every scent. Lucy gazed at the lightning scar over his right eye and wondered how he'd gotten it. A fantastic tale for another time, she supposed, though she hoped the scar was only skin deep.

"Lucy," a deep voice said. Lucy realized she'd drifted off, absentmindedly tracing the scar with her finger. The dragon slayer's face beneath her showed his concern.

"Does it hurt?" she asked, moving her hand back into his hair. Laxus smiled sadly.

"Not anymore." He pulled her into another kiss which grew hungrier with each passing second. Lucy moved her hands down his neck and then to his chest where she braced herself as she sensually rubbed against his body. The lightning mage let out a deep groan beneath her and she could feel his arousal growing. She moved her mouth away from his, trailing up his jaw to his neck, and then down to where the neck curved. She sucked hard, right over the tendon and slid her hips against his again. The resulting stifled moan made her grin in satisfaction.

She sat up, her plush ass pressing against his hardness teasingly. Reaching down, she grabbed the hem of the nightshirt Laxus must have changed her into while she was unconscious and pulled it over her head. Her pale breasts gleamed in the moonlight, but Laxus couldn't stop staring at her dark eyes that gazed down at him. High on the power of her control over the lightning mage she rocked her hips again, agonizingly slowly, and lightly raked her nails down his torso to his pant line. Laxus, however, made no move to take control, surrendering himself completely to her will (though the way he saw it, that wasn't much of a change).

Like a hawk suddenly swooping for its prey, Lucy decided to stop playing around and pulled off both of their remaining clothes at a speed rivaled only by Gray himself. As she climbed back on top of Laxus, she feared her heart would beat straight out of her chest. She'd never been this….aggressive before. But she liked it, and so, apparently, did the dragon slayer. She dove down and gave him one last gentle kiss before surrendering to the screaming demands of both their lust-filled bodies and lowering herself down onto him, slowly so as to accommodate for his impressive girth.

When he was all the way in, she paused and took in the moment. Laxus's uneven breaths were the only indicator of his affected state as he lay back coolly, his large, warm hands splayed on her thighs. His mind, however, was going crazy. Lucy was shining like one of her stars in the refracted night light. Her movements were uncertain, a clear indication she'd never taken the lead before, but so passionate Laxus felt ready to come already. He'd fucked a bunch of women, but this was his first time making love to one.

Cautiously, Lucy lifted herself up Laxus's hard shaft until only the tip remained in before lowering herself back down, moaning lightly in the process. _God that feels good…_ She set up a slow but fairly steady pace, bracing her palms on his chest while his own hands helped guide her rocking hips. The air was heavy with moans and hot breath. Lucy still felt slightly fatigued from her magic exertion earlier, but hardly cared about that now as she gradually sped up her pace, angling herself so that Laxus would hit that spot within her that made her legs weak. His own hips were also working to slam himself inside her with each thrust, reaching depths no other position quite explored.

"Fuck….Lucy," Laxus moaned beneath her. "I'm gonna…"

"You can… _ahn_ … come inside… _mmm_ … I've got my… _ah_ …pills," she managed to reply between bated breaths. She kept writhing atop the other mage, but the familiar sensation in her core told her she wouldn't last much longer. Finally her orgasm hit, washing over her with an intensity she'd never experienced before, sending tremors all the way down to her toes. She surrendered to it as she rode it out, her tightened opening squeezing Laxus into his own finish. She shuddered as she felt his hot seed shoot into her.

Exhausted, she collapsed onto him, their chests rising and falling heavily as they gasped for air. Lucy tilted her head up to see Laxus's blue eyes smiling down at her. Despite her tiredness, she reached up and kissed him passionately. Their tongues tried to do the talking they couldn't do with words.

"I love you." Well, words weren't _completely_ useless. Laxus almost bit himself for saying it. _Sheesh, way to scare her off_. "S-sorry, I didn't mean…" But he did.

Lucy, however, just smiled. She wasn't quite ready to return such declarations of sentiment, but it was nice to hear, even if she didn't really understand it yet. Why her? Why any of this? Determinedly she set her doubts aside and kissed him so gently he blushed. _Blushed._

"It's okay," she said, her voice sweet as water in the middle of a desert. Because that's what she was to the dragon slayer: a blissful oasis in a desert of a life. Somewhere the poor nomad inside of him finally wanted to stay.

Lucy gently lifted herself off of the slayer, grabbed her clothes and a small bottle from her bag, and headed to the bathroom to clean up. Laxus watched as she made her way across the room, her curvaceous, pale body still gleaming. When she shut the door, he turned to look out the window where the stars still shone innocently, as if they hadn't seen a thing.

As he cleaned himself up a bit and re-donned his underwear, he couldn't help but worry. Would her spirits accept him as a suitable partner for their master? He had already heard what Natsu thought about him at the guild. Would he try to separate them even more? Would others feel the same way? And what if Lucy didn't want to be his mate? Dragons mate for life, and they are very possessive. A part of Laxus was afraid of what he'd do if she rejected him. He'd never hurt her…or at least, he'd never try to hurt her. But brute force has its downfalls. There was just so much that could still go so wrong.

But there was also so much that was right. Contented to leave his worries for another day, Laxus leaned back onto the bed, closed his eyes, and smiled. At least for now, his mate was his and his alone.

Lucy washed herself off with a towel and put her pajamas back on. She unscrewed the bottle in her hands and took one of the herbal pills Porlyusica had given her. As she swallowed the medicine she thought about a time in the future when she might not take the pill. Would this relationship ever get that far? Did she even want it to? Lucy didn't like not knowing things, but then again some things had to be left to time.

She closed the bottle and headed back to the bed where Laxus was already sleep, snoring lightly with a faint smile still visible on his face. She crawled into bed and took her place nuzzled into his chest. Closing her eyes, she let much-needed sleep take her to dreamland where she was greeted by little celestial dragon slayers and everything felt right.


	6. Day 5 Part 1- A New Dawn

**Surprise!  
I'm actually updating. I know, you never saw this coming. I've been working on a couple of other stories I haven't published yet and got completely side-railed from this one. In truth, I'd never really planned to develop this story as much as I have, but I'm glad I did.  
Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and as always I look forward to your reviews! **

* * *

Lucy had to admit that she _really_ like waking up snuggled against the lightning dragon slayer. Who would have thought the big, bulky blonde would be such a cuddler?

She smiled to herself as she remembered his confession from the night before.

 _He loves me._

What does that even _mean_? Could he actually love her after just a few days? Lucy was sure he was just confusing desire with something more intimate, but that didn't change the fact that the confession made her feel all gooey inside. Love was something that happened in the stories she wrote, not something for real life. Maybe with Laxus, though, it could be…

She stopped her line of thinking, afraid to give in completely. She was sure he'd noticed that she didn't return his confession, but she didn't want to lie to him. Sure, she loved the way his arms held her against his hard chest and she loved the way his stormy eyes looked at her, but was that really love or just momentary captivation? Was this interest a fleeting one, or would it last?

 _Leave it to me to over-think everything,_ she sighed to herself. Why couldn't she just be happy? Take what she had and not worry about the rest.

She pushed herself up and shook her head to clear her thoughts, looking down on the slayer below her. He was still fast asleep, his face peaceful despite the jagged scar running down it. His tattooed chest rose up and down with slow, even breaths.

 _Laxus Dreyar…who'd have thought._

She giggled silently as a mischievous plot came to mind.

She lowered herself carefully, sucking gently on his neck and trailing her tongue lightly against his musky skin. He tasted so _masculine_ , all strength and power, but his skin was surprisingly soft above his hard muscles. It seemed fitting. After all, if there was anything she'd learned in the past few days it was that the lightning mage was much more than he seemed.

She continued trailing her mouth down across his collarbone and wide chest, pausing momentarily to suck teasingly on a nipple before lowering down to his defined abs. She turned her devious eyes up to check that he was still asleep as she kissed her way further and further south until she reached the hem of his underwear.

 _Now that won't do_ , she smirked to herself as she carefully rid the man of his only clothing, exposing him completely to her. The last time she'd been down here like this had been in a kind of power play, but this time she was in charge and she intended to take her sweet time.

She kissed his hips, smiling against his tan skin as he shifted ever so slightly above her. Even flaccid, his member was intimidating. Privately she thought it would be such a bother to have something like that hanging around _there_ all the time, but he seemed to handle it just fine.

She moved her mouth to his base, licking timidly as her eyes searched his face for any sign of awakening, but he might as well have been dead. She'd been too shocked by everything last time, but now she noted that he didn't taste bad to her at all. In fact, he actually tasted rather _good_ , musky and slightly bitter, but still somehow enjoyable.

She dragged her tongue teasingly along his member, watching in amusement as it gradually hardened. She moved her hand to hold the base as she ran her tongue around the inside of his foreskin, finally getting a moan out of the now half-sleeping slayer. Licking back down, she made her way to his heavy balls and popped one in her mouth to suck ever so lightly.

Another moan, this time followed by slight shifting. She moved to suck on the other testicle, her nose pressed into his dark blonde curls and breathing in his delectable scent. How did he smell so good?

She licked back up to the tip again, running her tongue flat against the sensitive head. At this, Laxus finally began to stir. She smiled sinisterly as she took him into her mouth and sucked… _hard._

Laxus' eyes flew open and he looked down. The sight of the celestial mage sucking on his cock first thing in the morning was almost too much for him, and he had to actively repress the urge to simply come into her mouth instantly. Her doe brown eyes gazed up at him innocently as he propped himself up on his elbows to get a better view. She took him deeper and deeper seemingly unperturbed by the massive member shoved down her throat.

Lucy turned her eyes back down to his arousal, giving it her full attention as she bobbed her head and sucked. Her tongue ran along it inside of her mouth, pressing it against the bumpy ridges on the roof of her wet cavern. It didn't take too much longer before Laxus' balls tensed up and he burst into her mouth. He threw his head back, savoring the pure pleasure that rushed over him as the blonde drank him down.

She pulled back and licked the last drops of his sperm off of his shrinking length before crawling up his body, planting scant kisses along the way and finally sticking her hard-working tongue into his mouth. Lucy broke the kiss and pressed her forehead against his, smiling madly.

"Good morning," she said, mischievously.

"Good morning indeed," he said, rising up slightly to kiss her again. He didn't even mind how she tasted like him as his lips moved against hers. "Did you sleep well?"

"Mmhmm," Lucy hummed with a cheerful nod of her head. "But we should probably be heading out soon."

"Good idea," Laxus agreed, pulling her closer to him and snuggling back into the warm sheets.

"Laxus! I said we should _go,_ not sleep more," Lucy grumbled as she tried in vain to free herself from his grasp. He laughed, his chest rumbling against her.

He twisted them so that he was half above her, trapping her against the bed, and kissed her again. How nice it was that he could kiss her whenever he wanted to now.

"Fine," he said, and with a last kiss he sat up. He dug around the covers for a few moments, searching for his underwear before he saw Lucy teasingly holding it up.

"Looking for something?" she smirked.

He grabbed the clothing out of her hands and pulled it on, rolling his eyes at her while she sauntered off to the bathroom to get ready, her hips swaying tantalizingly as she went.

He chuckled to himself and for the first time in his life, he felt like he was a lucky man.

* * *

The trip home was...comfortable. The blonde couple felt so at ease with each other, much more than either of them would have expected before. They weren't overtly lovey-dovey, touchy-feely, or any of those other slightly disgusting young-and-in-love stereotypes. Rather, they both felt a kind of peace in each other's presence. They couldn't pinpoint why, but this felt almost natural.

On the way to the train station they talked a bit about their pasts. Laxus revealed a bit about his childhood, his relationship with his father, and the time he'd spent banished from Fairy Tail. He seemed especially ashamed by the incident a few years before, when he'd forced the members of Fairy Tail to fight each other and called them weak. Hearing all the pain in his voice nearly broke Lucy's heart, but he didn't seem to mind too much. To him, these things were what made him the man today, the man that got to walk next to Lucy even if just for now, and he wouldn't change that for anything.

Lucy talked about her family, how her mother died when she was young and her strained relationship with her father; they had that in common. It seemed astounding to Laxus that Lucy would leave a life of luxury to be a mage, though her fighting spirit didn't quite scream "trophy wife" even if her looks did. He admired the way she talked about her spirits and how her mother had taught her about all the stars. At that point she choked up a bit, but he just took her hand and soon she felt better.

Unfortunately their conversations ceased on the train as Laxus simply stared blankly out the window, trying desperately to pretend that he wasn't affected by motion sickness. Lucy just smiled and traced her fingers along one of his large hands to distract him. The trip wasn't too long, and Laxus was grateful when he finally got to stagger off the metal death box.

Lucy was quiet as they walked through the station. She was afraid that everything that had happened while they were gone was just part of a dream that was quickly fading away as their normal lives sunk back into place. Her eyes darted all around, looking for something to distract her from the doubts that ate at her mind.

When they reached the entrance of the station, both of them stopped. Laxus would have loved assuage her worries instantly, but even he was concerned with how their new relationship would proceed. That ease and complacency that had defined the first part of their journey seemed a distant memory now as they both awkwardly avoided each other's eyes in silence.

"So, uh…" Laxus began, trailing off as the words caught in his throat.

"Yeah, I…" Lucy tried to pick up, but she too was struck by muteness.

"I'm sure you have a bunch of things to do," Laxus said stiffly.

"Oh, yeah, tons…probably…"

They glanced up at each other and blushed like school girls. Somehow, seeing the hesitation in one another broke the tension, like they felt reassured that the other was just as scared to mess up whatever this was as they were. They both laughed lightly, Laxus scratching his head as he gazed at the celestial mage.

 _She's so beautiful when she smiles._

"How about we go out to dinner? I'll pick you up around seven," he offered, his cheeks still slightly flushed as he repressed a goofy grin that had no business being on his scarred face.

"You're not worried about people seeing us?" Lucy asked.

"I'm not if you're not," Laxus replied, and Lucy smiled widely.

"I'm not," she said so quietly he wouldn't have heard it if not for his heightened senses.

Laxus stepped forward, his face back in its scary slayer mask of emotionlessness but his eyes gleaming as he tilted her chin up and kissed her. It was such an innocent kiss, the kind of kiss that knew there were more kisses to come. They were in no rush, not frantically flung forward by desires they couldn't control. Right now they were just two mages who really, really liked each other.

Lucy's heart felt it might burst.

They pulled back and stared into each other's eyes, as if they'd never felt more right than they did now.

"I'll see you later, then," Lucy said, squeezing his hand lightly before she turned and practically skipped out of the station.

Now that she was no longer facing the dragon slayer, Lucy's face was practically on fire and she smiled so widely she feared her face might split. She dashed through town, madly, but didn't head for her apartment. She had something more important to do.

About a half hour later she was approaching the shabby little cottage that housed the fire dragon slayer. If this thing with Laxus was going to work, she needed to have her best friend on board. Natsu had been pretty disapproving of her relationship with the lightning mage so far, and it was important to her that that changed immediately.

Lucy knocked on the door but there was no answer. She frowned. Maybe he was at the guild? She probably should have checked there first, anyway. The pinkette really didn't spend too much time at his house. In fact, it was more likely that he was already in her apartment.

As she turned to leave, though, she heard a clatter, like he was fighting someone.

She pushed on the door and, finding it unlocked, walked in to the small, admittedly filthy home. The abstract concept of cleanliness was one that Natsu still struggled with, along with manners and why property destruction was bad. She stepped over discarded clothes, food containers, and Mavis knows what else to enter the small living room, her eyes scanning for any sign of the dragon slayer, but he was nowhere.

Was he hiding from her?

That seemed abnormally childish of him, but it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

She heard another bang from his bedroom and headed down the short hall. What on Earthland was he doing?

Oh.

OOOH.

"Oh god, Gray… _Yes…Right there!_ " the slayer moaned, and Lucy had to stick her hand over her mouth to stop the audible gasp that threatened to escape.

Her eyeballs threatened to fall out of her head as she was presented with a scene she had never in her wildest dreams thought she'd ever witness. Natsu was lying face up on his bed ( _when did he get a bed?_ ), his legs hooked over the ice-make mage's shoulders as Gray pounded into him. Both were stark naked and gleaming slightly with sweat, panting and grunting heavily.

" _Aah_ , Natsu," Gray groaned as he bent down to kiss the dragon slayer deeply.

Lucy wondered for a moment if she was back in Edolas or something, but another set of deep moans shook her out of her reverie. Absolutely mortified, Lucy slowly backed away, hoping to get out without the unexpecting (and unexpected) couple being any the wiser, but of course she could never be so lucky.

She hadn't moved three steps before she tripped over some god-forsaken trash, tumbling onto the ground with a loud yelp that sent her two partners almost jumping through their skins. She scrambled to get up and out of the house as fast as she could while Natsu threw on the closest pair of pants he could find (which, incidentally, were Gray's) and ran out to catch their voyeur in the act.

"Lucy?!" he exclaimed, his face as pink as his hair, though it was no rival for the girl's own cheeks which put Erza's hair to shame. On his neck was a large, dark, circular mark that would have tattled on him even if she hadn't just seen the two of them at work.

"I-I didn't know that…Oh Mavis…I'm so sorry, I was just…I…," she stuttered, backing away to the door before running out of it into the small wooded area.

Natsu, however, ran after her and she didn't make it far before he was grabbing onto her arm, begging to explain.

"Y-you really don't have to explain anything, Natsu, _really_. I think I got the picture," she said, her cheeks still flaming.

"Oh my god…" Natsu muttered to himself, staring at his bare feet. Now that he was closer, Lucy could see a number of love marks all over his neck, chest, and shoulders. "We were going to tell everyone soon, we just…didn't know how…"

Lucy looked up, startled by this information.

"How long have you been…well…?"

Natsu's guilty green eyes met hers. "Uhh, we started kind of, y'know, hanging out about a year ago, but we've been pretty serious for about six months now," he said, his voice laced with shame.

Lucy, who was finally getting over the shock of seeing the two mages she'd always seen fighting making love, took a deep breath and smiled.

"That's great, Natsu! Really! I'm so happy for you," she said, hugging him. He stood completely still for a moment, still processing everything.

"R-really? You're not mad?" he asked and Lucy pulled back.

"Why would I be mad? I mean, I'm a little upset you didn't trust me enough to tell me before. I thought we were best friends…"

"We are, Luce! I just…I just…" Natsu looked off to the side guiltily. "I didn't want people to make fun of us, y'know?"

Lucy smiled, thinking about the lightning dragon slayer.

"Yeah, I understand," she said softly.

"So, uh, why are you here?" he asked scratching his head, hoping that didn't sound too rude.

"We can talk later," Lucy said, completely embarrassed by her timing. She turned to leave, but Natsu grabbed her hand.

"No, we can talk. If you came all the way out here, it must be important," Natsu said, his demeanor much more serious than she was used to seeing the fire mage. "Is this about Laxus?"

Lucy blushed bright red again. "I…uh…well…." She glanced up at him and grimaced. "How'd you know?"

"His scent is all over you, Luce," Natsu said, his voice slightly disapproving.

"Yeah, well…Laxus and I are together," she said, mustering up whatever courage she could. If she was going to be with the lightning mage, she was going to have to be prepared to defend that decision to anyone and everyone.

"I knew that two days ago, Lucy," Natsu said, but Lucy just shook her head.

"No, then we were, well, _seeing_ each other, but now we're actually _together_. I just thought that you should hear it from me," Lucy said.

"Why?" Natsu sounded slightly disgruntled and shifted in place restlessly.

"Well, you didn't exactly seem to approve of him the other day and you're my best friend and I want your approval! Is it really so strange that I want my best friend to like my boyfriend?" Lucy said, her face reddening slightly but with anger instead of embarrassment this time.

"Sorry, Luce, I just…I don't trust him. Not after what happened a few years ago. I'm fine with him being a part of the guild, but, _Mavis,_ he hurt his nakama! And he's such a playboy, always smelling like different women, never the same one twice. I don't want him to hurt you-," Natsu said. His voice was sincere but that didn't stop Lucy from exploding on him.

"At least I had the decency to tell you instead of hiding away like a coward!" she yelled.

That seemed to do the trick as Natsu physically flinched, staring at the ground and slumping over slightly. At this Gray, who'd been watching from the window, came out. He wasn't sure what the two were talking about, but it didn't look like it was going well.

"Hey Lucy," he said warily, afraid that perhaps she was upset about his and Natsu's relationship. Those fears were lifted, however, when Lucy turned her scathing glare to him for a moment.

"This has nothing to do with you, Gray," she said, her voice tight and the ice mage raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" he asked, a bit confused, though relieved. What was she so angry about, then?

"Well, kind of. I'm mad at you too for not trusting me earlier, but that's another issue. This is about Natsu not approving of me and Laxus. Well, you know what, Natsu? I told you as a courtesy because you're my friend, but, in truth, you don't _have_ to like my boyfriend. Would I like your approval? Of course, but I don't _need_ it. Laxus and I are going to keep seeing each other, and if you want to be a sourpuss about that, then fine!" Lucy screeched.

"Geez, Natsu, you're such an idiot," Gray said, shaking his head and rubbing at his temple.

"That's exactly what I—WHAT?!" Natsu yelled at his partner, but Gray just met him with an icy stare.

Lucy looked up at the ice mage and smiled slightly. "Really?" she asked, her voice soft and appreciative that he took her side.

"This is _Lucy_ , we're talking about. She's not just some dumb girl willing to settle for any guy that will look at her. If she trusts Laxus, then I don't see why we shouldn't too."

"Did your brain freeze? What about that stunt he pulled a couple of years ago, making his nakama fight each other and threatening the city!"

"Of course I remember that, Natsu," Gray snapped. "But I also remember how he was there at Tenrou, fighting right alongside all of us. Everyone makes mistakes and does things they're not proud of. If Lucy believes that Laxus is a good person, then I'm going to trust her judgment."

"Oh, don't try to make this about trusting Lucy. _Of course_ I trust Lucy, with my life! But Laxus is danger," Natsu growled.

"What would you know? It's not like you ever talk to him!" Lucy snarled. "I like Laxus and I trust him. I trust him not to hurt me, and I don't want to talk to you again until you can do the same!"

Her words were more confident than her true feelings, but she wasn't about to let Natsu know how much she doubted her own relationship with the dragon slayer.

Natsu looked back at her fiercely, but held his tongue, afraid to make this any worse. They'd _never_ had a fight before, at least not like this. Gray looked warily between his lover and his friend. It seemed he and the fire mage would be doing a lot of talking tonight.

Lucy turned sharply and stormed off along the dirt path, her overnight bag still slung over her shoulder as tears stung her eyes. She'd been so happy about this, but Natsu had dusted off all of the doubts she'd been desperately trying to repress. Did Laxus really always smell like other women? He'd never mentioned anyone before, so it was nothing serious, right? She was different though, right? They'd already been together for five days which, according to Natsu, was four days longer than anyone else.

 _Only five days_ , the voice in the back of her head nagged.

There was no way she could completely know him yet. Maybe she was just so tired of being alone that she was willing to take anybody. She and Laxus were so different, she'd known that from day one!

But when she was with him...

Everything just felt _right_. Like for the first time she was doing something she was supposed to have done all along. Was that feeling a lie? A cheap, lust-driven façade?

She sure hoped not.

"Lucy," a voice behind her called but she kept walking.

"Not now, Natsu," she said, more tired than angry at this point.

"It's me," Gray said, jogging in front of her. He was still shirtless, wearing nothing but Natsu's pants since the fire dragon slayer had stolen his. Lucy couldn't help the short laugh at how strange he looked.

"I'll talk to Natsu," he said. "He means well, I promise. He's just worried about you."

Lucy opened her mouth to retort, but Gray cut her off.

"I'm not saying you have to forgive him. He's being a dick, and hopefully I can help him see that. I just want you to understand that he's coming from a place of love for you, even if he needs to be smacked up the head for it."

Lucy sighed lightly and gave a weak smile.

"Thanks, Gray," she said and moved to walk home, but he stood in front of her again, clearly not done.

"And…I'm sorry. For not telling you about us. We were just scared that everyone would push us away if they knew."

"And that's what makes me so angry about Natsu!" Lucy said wobbly, tears starting to gather in her eyes. "I took that risk and trusted him about Laxus, and all I get from him is this chastisement and disapproval. He's such a hypocrite!"

"Yes, he is," Gray agreed, wiping Lucy's tears off her cheeks with his thumbs. "And once he calms down and actually tries using that flame-blackened brain of his he'll realize it and come begging for forgiveness."

Lucy just smiled at her friend and hugged him. "Thanks."

She began walking back through the trees, tears still clinging to her cheeks.

"And Lucy," Gray said. She twisted to see the black-haired mage grinning deviously at her. "You've got hickies all over your neck."

Lucy blushed furiously, grabbing self-consciously at her exposed throat as she gaped in outrage. "Like you're one to talk!" she yelled at him, and he laughed deeply as Lucy ran out of the forest and back to her apartment before anyone else could see her and her scandalous neck.


	7. Day 5 Part 2- The Date

**Y'know, when I started writing this it was honestly just supposed to be a stupid, shallow story in which to play out some fun FT fantasies of mine, and while I still like to imagine it's just as stupid and shallow as when I started, your feedback as certainly encouraged me to put a little more effort into the story production. So thanks for all the reviews, I never would have written a whole chapter about a date without them! (And don't worry, we'll get back to some steamy fun in the next chapter.) XOXO**

* * *

After Lucy applied a substantial amount of make-up to cover the indecorous red marks littering her neck, she spent the rest of the day running errands while her mind flew at a thousand miles an hour. The last 24 hours had given her more to think about than the last year had.

 _That asshole! Just who does Natsu think he is, judging me like that? Especially after he was so worried I'd judge him for being with Gray…Okay, but like him and Gray! When did that happen! How on Earthland did I not notice that?! I'm supposed to be their partners! Though now that I think about it, they're pretty cute together…No! Focus! You're supposed to be mad at Natsu. And I am, that asshole! But he does have a point. I don't know Laxus that well. What if he's just toying with me? But he said he loves me. Do you do that when you're toying with people? No, there's no way Natsu's right about this…_

Between her anger, doubts, confusion, fear, and the remnants of her magic depletion, Lucy was worn out by mid-afternoon and crashed hard, drooling in the most lady-like way possible all over her pillow as sleep carried her away.

When she finally woke up, the sun was beginning to set and her clock read 6:33.

 _6:33!_

She jumped up frantically and dashed to her shower, stripping off clothes along the way and leaving a trail of discarded fabric in her wake.

What followed next were the shortest and most frenzied 27 minutes of her life in which she managed to wash her hair with body soap, put her dress on backwards…twice, and put her shoes on the wrong feet. She quickly dried her hair and threw it up in an "artfully messy" twist and dabbed more make up on to cover the marks on her neck before realizing she'd completely forgotten to put on underwear.

She blushed deeply and turned to go back to her dresser and fetch some when a heavy knock on the door stole her attention. She froze for a moment, debating whether or not she had time to finish dressing before answering the door, but her visitor was clearly impatient if the second round of loud rapping was any indication.

She hurried over to the door, her heels click-clacking on the wooden floor as she walked, and cracked it open.

Laxus was standing there in a well-fitting red button up shirt with black slacks. He looked good. Lucy almost giggled as she realized they were matching, red and red. Laxus looked up at her, his face surly looking, but his eyes seemed to gleam at the sight of her. Even if he wouldn't show it, he was looking forward to this date.

 _When did I get so good at reading him?_

"Hi," she said, slightly breathlessly, cringing internally at how girly she sounded.

"Let's go," he said gruffly and Lucy wondered if she was just imagining his cheeks darkening slightly.

"Just a sec, I'm almost ready," she said with a smile, turning to close the door but Laxus put his foot in the way.

"You look fine, well _better_ than fine. What could you possibly still have to do?" he asked and Lucy flushed.

"I…uh…just forgot a few things while I was getting dressed…" she trailed off cryptically, but the dragon slayer had no problem figuring out her issue and his eyes roamed her body lecherously before he snickered.

"Really, I think you look _perfect_ ," he said teasingly, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and dragging her out the front door, giving her only enough time to grab her purse off the wall.

" _Laxus!"_ she yelped in protest, but he just laughed as he moved his arm down to her waist and set out down the street.

Lucy could only hope her face wasn't flaming as badly as she felt it was. There was no way for anyone to know she was going commando, per say, but she couldn't shake the feeling that everyone who glanced at her somehow _knew_.

She buried her face in her hands.

"I feel like a harlot," she said, as an unfamiliar breeze stirred around her exposed core.

Laxus just laughed again, clearly amused.

"Nobody can tell," he said lowly.

"They're all looking at me!" she muttered self-consciously and Laxus just looked down at her with a confused expression.

"Of course they are, you're beautiful," he said as if it were obvious, causing her face to light up for entirely new reasons.

They walked the rest of the way in a comfortable silence, enjoying the late summer evening as the sun painted the sky a myriad of oranges and pinks. The streets were full of couples like them, and Lucy beamed to know that for once she was among them weaving between them alone.

They came to a nice restaurant where Laxus had somehow already made reservations. Lucy had always wanted to come here, but it seemed kind of weird to go by herself. It was all so perfect she almost forgot about her underwear-free state.

Almost.

Lucy glanced around, half checking for people who seemed to _know_ and half checking for people that she knew. While she and Laxus weren't a secret per say, they still hadn't had a chance to tell the guild about them yet. So far Natsu and Gray were the only ones who knew.

Lucy's mind threatened to replay the events of earlier that afternoon, but she was quickly distracted as a waiter came and took their orders.

"Lucy?" Laxus said, and Lucy's head snapped up to him. She noticed the waiter was gone and she had just been staring into space. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah! I'm great. This place is amazing! I've always wanted to come here," she smiled, but Laxus wasn't fooled.

"Did something happen?" he asked. As much as he would have loved to pretend everything was fine, he wanted this thing with Lucy to last and that meant sorting out any and all problems that came their way head on.

Lucy's smile faded a bit and she glanced at the table.

"I talked to Natsu today," she said, her voice quiet as she recalled their argument for the thousandth time. She left out the bit about Gray, figuring that was their secret to tell even if she was sure Laxus' dragon smelling had already picked up on it.

"And?" Laxus probed, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice. He knew Lucy and Natsu were close friends and he hadn't missed the glares he'd gotten for the past few days from the fire dragon slayer.

"He…wasn't happy," she said, refusing to meet Laxus' eyes.

He reached across the table and wrapped her delicate hand in his larger, rougher one.

"Are you happy?" he asked, his voice low and concerned. He sounded steady, but his heart was racing as he looked at her, fearing what Natsu's opinion of him might mean to her.

At last she looked up and a sweet, genuine smile spread across his face.

"Yeah, I'm happy," she said truthfully, squeezing his hand a bit. "And I told him to suck it."

Laxus laughed at that. Lucy might look like a princess, but she was as stubborn as that bull spirit of hers when she wanted to be.

"We've never had a fight like this before. I mean, I've pushed him out my window and yelled at him for eating my food, but we've never _actually_ had a fight, y'know? I don't like it. And it also hurts that he couldn't trust me enough to tell me about—" she cut off in horror as she accidentally let his secret slip.

Laxus, however, didn't look surprised. "I know about ice boy," he said and Lucy sighed in relief. "Though it was confusing at first. They sure go to some lengths to make sure nobody finds out."

"Natsu was saying that dragon slayers can smell people on each other," Lucy said tentatively, debating whether or not to go there.

She decided to go there.

"He said you always smell…different," she said, averting her eyes from his piercing stormy ones.

"Different, eh? I believe the term he used the other day was 'man-whore'," he said with a tilted grin.

Lucy just blushed, letting her silent question hang in the air.

"He's right, though. I've never had a relationship like this before. All the women I've been with were just that: women I've been with. I don't even know most of their names," he confessed.

Lucy glanced up and saw that he looked a little ashamed, but truthful. For some reason, he would rather tell her the truth about this than pass off an easy lie. That alone made Lucy's resolve about him harden.

"Why now?" she asked curiously.

"Why now what?"

"Why are you trying out a relationship now? I mean, this all just started because you found Libra's key, right?"

Laxus coughed lightly.

"I dunno, I like you. You're smart, interesting, beautiful, so why not?" he said gruffly and Lucy raised an eyebrow.

She was pretty sure he wasn't telling her the whole truth, and she couldn't figure out why he would lie about that but admit to his numerous affairs with random women.

Lucy, however, dropped the subject. For now, she was just happy that he liked her. For now, that was enough.

"What color are your eyes," she asked randomly and he looked up, confused, his stormy grey orbs staring right into her own doe brown ones.

"What?" he asked, afraid he didn't hear her right.

"Your eyes. They seem to change colors," she said smiling.

He grinned and those stormy eyes seemed to light up, thankful for a change in topic.

"Yeah, sometimes they're more blue and sometimes they're more grey. There's really no predicting it," he said.

"Like the sky," Lucy noted. "Appropriate for a lightning dragon slayer."

They broke their hands apart as the waiter arrived with their food, which looked and smelled divine.

After that their conversations took a lighter turn and they covered all the basic favourites: what's your favourite color, book, holiday, animal, season. If you could fight one mage in the GMGs, who would it be? If you could go anywhere in Fiore, where would you go?

It seemed every time they found out something new about each other, they discovered ten things they hadn't even thought of before. Both were fully aware how surreal it was.

Laxus and Lucy.

It was almost as unexpected as Natsu and Gray, though at least the latter two had been on talking terms before the beginning of this week. However they seemed to make up for lost time as they talked and talked (and talked and talked and talked) and before long it felt like they'd been friends for years rather than just five days.

After dinner they just walked around town, their strolling as aimless as their conversations. They wound their way all around Magnolia until they stopped on a bridge overlooking the canal. The sun was asleep now and the moon was casting her light along the calm water.

"Laxus," Lucy whispered in the still night, her arm wrapped around her companion's.

"Hmm?"

"Did you mean it? When you said you loved me?" she asked quietly.

Laxus looked down at her in shock. In truth he'd kind of hoped she'd forgotten that part, not because he didn't mean it but because he knew that for her, at least, it was way too early.

"Yeah," he replied simply, watching a fish jump out of the water and splash back into it.

They stood in peaceful silence for a few minutes before Lucy spoke up again.

"How do you know?" she asked.

"How do I know?"

Lucy nodded. "How do you know if you love me?"

"I just know," he said, meeting her curious gaze. She broke it and looked out at the water.

"I'm sorry that I don't know," she said, and Laxus looked down at her sadly.

It was still too early for him to explain all the things about dragon mating. He didn't want her to feel like she was obligated to love him just because he couldn't love anyone else. If it weren't for the way she overwhelmed his dragon senses he too would be wondering how he was supposed to know. In truth, he wasn't entirely sure why it was Lucy and not some other girl, especially as their relationship before this had been practically nonexistent. All he knew was that it _was_ her, and that's all that really mattered.

He turned to the blonde girl and gently took her face in his hands.

"I couldn't expect you to know," he said, and she flashed him a confused look before he bent down and pressed his lips against hers.

Lucy was content to put her bemusement aside as their lips moved together softly. Just like earlier, she had the feeling that he wasn't telling her everything, but it was hard to keep that train of thought as his tongue traced along her lips, pleading for entrance.

She smiled into their kiss as her hands reached up to wrap around his neck to pull him closer. She opened her mouth and softly sighed against him while he took the chance to dive into her, his tongue twisting and sliding against her own. He moved his hands down to her waist and pulled her even tighter against his chest.

Neither of them knew how long they stayed like that, occasionally gasping for shallow breaths as they kissed slowly and leisurely on the dark bridge. Neither seemed in a hurry, content to just hold and taste each other thoroughly. Their entire night of getting-to-know-you conversations made them feel so much closer, and now it was like they were somehow merging into one person (at least their hair color wouldn't change much).

When they finally broke apart, each panting heavily, the moon had risen in the sky and the stars were brightly shining (with Regulus twinkling almost violently). They pressed their foreheads against each other as they caught their breaths in the warm summer night. Lucy shuddered and gasped as a breeze brushed over them, reminding her of her panty-lessness.

Laxus chuckled and moved his hand down from her waist to rest on top of her scantily-clad bum.

"Wanna go back to my place?" he asked lowly in her ear as his hand massaged her ass lightly. A shiver shot down her spine and to her core as his voice vibrated along her skin.

She smiled up at him as coyly as she could and took off down the street, swaying her hips as she walked so her dress swung dangerously behind her.

"Lucy," Laxus said, as he watched his blonde partner saunter away.

"Mmhmm?" she hummed lightly, her dark eyes gleaming deviously in the moonlight as she looked at him over her shoulder.

He paused for a moment as he took her all in. Her golden hair looked almost silver in the moon's reflection and the way that dress hugged her curves was sinful. A smile played at her sweet lips and she practically seemed to glow. He still couldn't believe that she would date him like this. He felt like beauty and the beast, and he was most certainly not the beauty.

 _What did I ever do to deserve her?_

Perhaps he'd never know. He smiled into the darkness.

"My apartment's this way," he said, turning on his heel and striding off down the street as the flustered celestial mage tried to claim she knew that the whole time.

Yeah, he liked her.


	8. Day 5 Part 3- A Shocking Evening

**Hello my lovlies! Here is the third part of day five (the one y'll have been waiting for).  
** **T** **hanks so much for all of your reviews, and as always, let me know what you think! XOXO**

* * *

Laxus' home was very…bare.

The apartment building was nice and all his belongings seemed to be of good quality, but there was barely anything there that suggested someone actually lived in this place. It was spotless, a far cry from Natsu's trash-strewn hovel she'd tripped through earlier that afternoon. For a brief moment Lucy wondered if maybe everything had been shoved in a closet or something. However, the thin layer of dust that seemed to coat some of the furniture suggested that he simply didn't make a mess rather than invested any time and effort in cleaning.

The whole place seemed to be a physical representation of him, or at least what she thought he was like before this past week. It was cool and functional and impersonal, much like the lightning slayer. However, she knew now that he was very different from that persona he masqueraded before the guild. Lucy smiled and instantly started decorating in her head.

"Where do you think you're going?" Laxus growled at her as she stepped forward into his home, her shoes muffled against a plain black area rug.

"I…uh...inside?" Lucy asked rather than answered.

"No shoes," he said, glancing down at her heels.

Lucy blushed and quickly apologized under her breath, bending down to remove her shoes. She placed them neatly next to each other beside his own shoes before standing, and turning to enter the living room.

 _That explains why this place is so tidy._ She'd never thought he'd be such a stickler for house-etiquette.

A cough behind her caught her attention and she turned to see Laxus with a smirk on his face. She knew that smirk.

"I'm afraid there are no dresses allowed either," he said, barely keeping a straight face as Lucy opened her mouth in outrage.

"E-excuse me!" she burst indignantly, her face nearing the shade of her dress.

Laxus chuckled deeply and stepped closer to her, nipping her ear playfully.

"Your week isn't up, missy. I'm still in charge," he said, his voice rumbling in his chest.

Lucy smiled through her blush. So that was how he was going to play, huh?

"Very well, _master_ ," she purred, easily slipping the straps of her dress down and letting the crimson fabric pool at her feet like a puddle of blood.

Laxus eyed her hungrily, his stormy gaze raving her curvy body. He never got tired of looking at her, and already he could feel his heart pumping blood furiously to…other regions. However, his eyes could never stray from hers for too long, that sweet gaze calling him in like a siren. Those eyes smoldered at him, burning right through his skin and down to the bone. He felt exposed in front of her, despite the fact he was still fully dressed. Perhaps it was because she knew him in a way even his partners in the Raijinshuu didn't. Or maybe it was just because she was _really fucking sexy._

His self-restraint snapped, his game of cat and mouse coming to a premature end as he shoved her against the wall and captured her lips in his own. The gentle man from earlier was lost in a flurry of passion as his tongue forced her mouth open and he swallowed her moans whole. Lucy's hands wound around his neck, trying to pull him closer as if it were physically possible. His rough hands found a place at her waist, his fingers digging into her soft flesh.

After years of frantic kisses he pulled back, breathing heavily.

"Do you want something to drink? Coffee, tea…" he asked, as if manners had any place in his life right now.

"Not even almost," Lucy said, pressing her lips back against his.

He scooped her up in his arms; at least his bulky muscles were good for something. Lucy squeaked unbecomingly as he lifted her up, her hands still wound behind his head. She giggled as he swiftly carried her into what she assumed was his bedroom and plopped her on the bed. By the time she gained her bearing and looked up at him he had already removed his tie and was holding it in his hands.

He smirked down at the fabric before turning his predatory gaze to her. A not unpleasant chill ran down her spine at the look and she felt her core throb. The air was cool against her bare skin, but right then she felt hot.

 _What are you doing to me, Laxus Dreyar?_

"Lay back on the pillows," he ordered, barely composing himself enough to not grin wildly.

Lucy obeyed, setting her head gracefully on one of his pillows. She kept her eyes trained on the dragon slayer, curious where this was going.

"Put your hands up," he said, shifting himself so that he was straddled over her.

She raised her hands so they rested against the wooden backboard of his bed. Without hesitation, he took one hand and tied it to the wood on one side with his tie, repeating the action on the other side using his belt until her arms were spread like she was trying to give him a hug or do the YMCA. His eyes flashed mischievously as he worked, and Lucy could tell he was having way too much fun with this.

"What are you doing?" she asked with a light laugh. This was definitely kinkier than she was used to.

"If you ever want me to stop, your word is my command. Until then, you're under my full control." His voice was teasing her, and she almost wanted to mock him in defiance, but (don't tell anyone) she found she rather liked this game. A lot. He bent down to kiss her deeply before pulling back and eyeing her face for agreement.

"Yes, sir," she said, completely unsarcastically for once and Laxus felt a throb of desire pulse through him.

When he finished tying her up, he sat back on his heels to admire his handiwork. Lucy's torso was propped up by his pillows, her chest rising and falling heavily with each labored breath. The only light came from a lamp across the room which cast a yellow glow on her pale skin. He continued downward, admiring the curve of her hip and her full thighs he could just bite into. Her legs weren't particularly long, but _damn_ were they perfect. Her eyes were still the jewels in the royal crown that was her body, windows to the beautiful soul that lay beneath. Laxus felt overwhelmed as those eyes looked at him, full of trust, delight, excitement, and maybe lov…

No, it was still too early for that.

He pushed the thought from his mind and pressed a finger against her jaw, dragging it all the way down to her chin. Her skin was so soft and smooth and clear; the skin of a high-born for sure. He trailed his finger down her exposed throat, feeling each bone of her neck underneath. The dragon part of him savored her submission like this, exposing herself in such a primal way to him. Her neck felt fragile to his powerful hands, but he knew it was an illusion. She was strong, no matter how dainty and high-born she might appear, and that made the submission all the more satisfying.

His finger traced down her collarbone and directly down the center of her chest, in between her soft mounds. He glided steadily down, drawing small circles across her skin. His eyes were focused entirely on his hand as he touched her, and the teasing motions made Lucy shiver. She could feel a blazing hot path left behind from where he'd touched her, and she wanted more.

But Laxus was content to just run his finger down more and more, past her belly-button and over to her protruding hip bone. He scratched over the skin with his nail and Lucy nearly moaned, but he kept going, completely ignoring her dripping core in favor of tracing down her trembling thighs. She had to bite her lip to keep from begging him to relieve her (like _she_ would ever beg) as he continued down and down her leg, all the way to her pink-painted toes. His fingernail scraped over the top of her foot, making her giggle slightly at the tickling sensation.

Then he looked up at her, meeting her probing, curious eyes as he took one toe in between his fingers and electrocuted her. Lightly, of course, but enough for her to gasp and wiggle in surprise.

"Oh sweet Mavis!" Lucy exclaimed, shocked in multiple ways, and Laxus actually laughed.

It was a strange feeling, too fast to be distinctly painful and it left her tingling down to the bone. It was like she could feel the spark trapped inside of her, shooting up and down her nerves. Everything heightened, all the colors and sounds magnified by her elated state, and before she knew it, a second shock landed on the center of her foot.

That time she was more aware of the pain and her foot jolted back instinctively, but the literal after-shock left her almost moaning. It was like an itch, and for some god-forsaken reason she wanted more of it.

Laxus, still fully dressed, looked down at his lovely prey. He could see the adrenaline pumping behind her wide eyes and smell her excitement. His own arousal strained against his pants, but he was in no rush. He intended to draw this out as long as he could until she was begging him.

He grinned conspiratorially as he sent a shock through both of her ankles, making her squirm enticingly. Her cheeks flushed as he smelled another wave of arousal crash over her. He eyed her dripping core greedily. A part of him wanted to just abandon this and eat her whole, but this was too much fun to abandon quite yet.

He ran his hands over her shins, lightly streaming electricity into her skin. She felt like she was on fire, but just as soon it was gone and his rough hands massaged her calves. She breathed heavily as her blood rushed through her veins audibly. Her body felt like it was charging up, tingling all over so that each touch was a burst of sensation.

His hand continued up the backs of her thighs, trailing shocks up to her plush ass. He released a large pulse of electricity into her soft, pale globes and she inhaled sharply at the pain, emitting a pleasured groan with her exhale.

"How does that feel _good?_ " she asked breathlessly.

Laxus chuckled above her before climbing back up her body to kiss her, their lips sparking lightly.

"Pain and pleasure aren't as different as you might think," he said lowly and sensually, making Lucy rub her thighs together in an attempt to relieve the aroused burning in her core.

Laxus entwined his hands with each of her bound ones, leaning down to kiss her again as he released a stronger jolt of electricity into her palms. She gasped loudly against his mouth and he took advantage of the opening to twist their tongues together. Lucy, however, was too over loaded by the sparkling sensation to participate much as he probed the mouth he was already so familiar with.

He moved his hands down to her forearms, releasing short, staccatoed pulses up her arms. She squirmed and moaned against him, each shock as all-encompassing as the first. Her mind was blank, all thought drowned out by pure feeling. Somewhere off in the distance she was aware that Laxus had moved his mouth down to her neck where he was licking and sucking desirously. She wanted to run her fingers through his hair, but her bound arms kept her open and on display for him as his devious hands scratched down her back, releasing his power deep into her muscles. It was somehow both immensely relaxing and highly erotic at the same time.

Finally his hands came around to her front. He sat up, perched right above her hips, and looked down at her, his sweet little prisoner. He let his hands finally ghost over her voluptuous breasts, feeling the supple, soft skin beneath his fingers. He squeezed her gently and she groaned, her eyes begging him for more.

"Laxus," she moaned.

 _Mavis, she's sexy._ He squeezed her again, harder this time. His thumb rubbed over her perky nipple and he let out a shock into her.

Lucy thought she was going to black out at the sensation of electricity jolting right through her sensitive breasts. She was sure if she hadn't been a mage her heart would have given out by now as it pounded relentlessly in her chest. It made her wonder how anyone survived after being struck by the lightning dragon slayer's power. She certainly wouldn't.

Fuck it. When she'd said she was above begging she had been an ignorant fool, free from the nearly painful lust that soaked her thighs. Pride wasn't worth this torture.

"Please, Laxus," she pleaded, earning a smirk from the slayer.

"Please what, darling?" he teased, moving his hand over her stomach where he shocked her again. She gasped loudly.

"Touch me," she said, her back arching as she tried to rub herself against something. _Anything_.

"But I am touching you," he said, sending more jolts into her hips.

" _For Mavis sake_ , Laxus, would you just touch my fucking cunt already!" she practically screamed, sending the dragon slayer into another fit of laughter.

"As you wish," he said, an amused grin plastered on his scarred face and he quickly stuffed two large fingers into her.

She was so wet he slid in without issue and she moaned wantonly at the relief. His thumb circled her clit slowly, making her ground her hips against him in search of more friction. He let loose more shocks, which made her shake and quiver as they surged through her hot core.

"Oh gods, yes," she moaned as he continued to pump his fingers in and out of her, releasing shocks that made her clench around him. It didn't take long before she was practically falling apart at the seams, her whole body so heightened from his teasing that it threatened to all crash back down.

"Faster, _please_ , faster," she begged, and he obliged, occasionally curling his fingers inside of her to scratch at that sensitive spot inside.

He loved knowing he could make her feel this good, that the only thing she could think of was the pleasure _he_ brought her. Her body was flushed and shiny with a sheen of sweat as she trembled. Her eyes were shut tight, mouth agape as she was brought closer and closer to that sweet release. She pulled against her restraints as her body tensed. Finally, he sent another hard shock through her and she broke. The celestial mage almost screamed as her climax rushed over her and she surrendered to it, her vision going white and her body acting of its own accord.

Slowly she regained control of her body as it settled back down, though it would be many minutes before she could hear anything besides her own demanding heartbeat. By the time she came to, Laxus had already released her arms from their hold on the backboard so she flopped bonelessly against the pillows.

"Oh…my…god…," she said between breaths. "That was…"

 _What was that?_ Amazing, incredible, terrific? They all seemed too ordinary to describe how that had felt, and she cursed her writer's brain for abandoning her in this moment.

Laxus, however, seemed to understand and smiled softly. "Good?"

Lucy laughed. That so didn't cut it, but she supposed it would have to work. "Yeah, good."

Laxus' eyes danced as he began to unbutton his shirt, revealing his hard, chiseled body with those black, stormy tattoos over his chest. What would her father say if he knew her boyfriend had tattoos? She smiled at the thought.

He quickly abandoned the shirt on the ground before letting his rapidly discarded pants join them. His hardened length burst free from its restraints eagerly, already dripping in anticipation. When he was fully undressed, he bent down and kissed Lucy again before pulling back and meeting her hazy eyes.

"I'm going to fuck you now," he said with a growl, but Lucy just smiled.

"Good," she returned, and he wasted no time in pressing into her.

She gasped as his thick length filled her completely until he was pressed flush against her. She wrapped her legs around him, her heels digging into his ass as he began to thrust against her. He moved very deliberately and slowly, savoring each second he spent inside of her. Their arms entangled around each other and their lips mirrored their hips, sliding against each other almost lazily.

Lucy felt her arousal return and she rocked her hips in time against him. Laxus pulled back from her kiss and stared directly into her eyes as he thrust hard inside of her, gradually increasing his pace as his own arousal became more and more demanding. The intimacy of it almost scared her, but it felt so _right_.

As he moved inside of her, she knew it was more than just an act of lust or desire or even simple I-like-you emotion. There was something deeper there, something that couldn't be seen with the eye but was as real as the man pounding into her. It was a connection between them, like an ancient magic that pulsed through their veins alongside their lifeblood. At that moment, she wondered if this is what he'd been talking about when he said he "just knew" he loved her.

It was beautiful.

"I think I love you too," she whispered, only half aware she'd spoken out loud.

Laxus felt like she'd just electrocuted _him_. Her words were stronger than any physical sensation he could ever experience, and in an instant he lost all control and came into her. He groaned his climax, his body tensing as he continued to thrust into her through it. Lucy quickly followed him, her body clenching his in an almost-bruising grip.

As they both floated back to Earthland, Laxus rolled off of her carefully. That one time of their bodies writhing together, so filled with emotion had felt as exhausting as the entire night they'd spent together just a few days ago. The dragon slayer lightly kissed his mate, finally allowing himself to hope, just a bit, that maybe, possibly, there was an off-chance that this might kinda work. Maybe.

They both felt like there was so much to say, but neither could find the words to say it. So instead they just wrapped around each other and drifted off to sleep while their hearts seemed to beat as one. Fuck Natsu, fuck everyone that thought this was wrong or that they didn't belong together. They knew, with each beat of their hearts, that they were both exactly where they were supposed to be.


	9. Day 6 Part 1- A Good Morning

Laxus grunted as he woke up, his eyes suddenly flooded with shiny gold hair. The room was dimly lit by the morning sun that landed in strips on the floor as it poured through his blinds. He smiled to himself as Lucy sighed in her sleep, burrowing deeper into his chest. In his strong arms she felt so crushable, like he could squeeze her to dust if he wasn't careful, so he was very careful. There was nothing more precious, and he would hate himself if he ever hurt a single hair on her head.

He inhaled deeply, taking in her scent which was covered in his own. He purred lightly at the animalistic satisfaction of having her marked with his scent. The little lightning bolt he'd put on her wrist on day one was already fading, and his draconic possessiveness liked to keep his mark on her. Likewise, he reveled in being drenched in her scent as well. Of course, he didn't _own_ her by any means; if anything she owned him. Still, he wouldn't hesitate to fry any man that tried to touch her.

The whole room was filled with their mingling scents and the lingering smell of sex and…Natsu?

Suddenly he heard a light tapping on his front door, nothing that could wake Lucy up but enough to get the dragon slayer's attention. Laxus growled at the intrusion before untangling himself from his dozing mate and pulling on some pants and a shirt. He walked to the front door where the smell of campfire and cinnamon was stronger. When he opened the door, the pink-haired dragon slayer was scratching his head and looking everywhere but at Laxus.

The lightning slayer glared at Natsu. He could smell the ice mage on him and was pretty sure it was because of him that he was here at all. At least, Natsu didn't look like he was particularly thrilled to be standing there. Laxus grunted at him and he turned his eyes upward.

"Uh, hi Laxus," he said. "I was hoping we could talk for a bit."

"Lucy's asleep," Laxus said, and he could see Natsu wince slightly at her name.

"It won't take too long, I promise."

Laxus growled lowly before stepping out of the apartment. They wandered down to a little courtyard where Laxus sat down and then stared at the fire slayer before he also took seat on a small stone bench. Neither said anything as Laxus glared and Natsu avoided all eye contact.

"Well?" the lightening mage asked impatiently. He was going to be very unhappy if Natsu pulled him away from snuggle time just to stare at the ground. (Not that he would ever admit to enjoying snuggle time.)

"Right. Well, Gray- I'm going to assume you already know about me and Gray, you _are_ a dragon slayer after all, even if it's just with the lacrima—"

Laxus growled dangerously and Natsu changed topic.

"Sorry, anyway, Gray thought I should come talk to you. I told him it was a stupid idea, but he's pretty stubborn about these kinds of things. You probably already know that Lucy and I got into a bit of a…argument yesterday. About you," Natsu said, his words tumbling nervously out of his mouth.

While he was typically one to face problems head-on, he was never so good with the nuances of words and arguments, and facing those the same way he faced an enemy often got him in deeper trouble than he was in before.

"Yes, I believe you called me a man whore and told her to stay away from me," Laxus said darkly, increasingly irritated that the fire mage had pulled him out here and away from his mate.

"Yeah… I just… Lucy's my best friend, and I don't want her to get hurt by falling for you if you're just going to run through her like all those other women you come into the guild smelling like. I care too much about her to watch you break her heart," Natsu said more determinedly, finally meeting Laxus' steely gaze.

Laxus said nothing, feeling a little guilty that his…experienced past had made Lucy get into such a fight with her friend. Sure, the fire dragon slayer was an idiot, but at least he cared for her. If he weren't so annoyed, Laxus would have been glad to see she had such devoted friends.

"Maybe you don't know, because you never had a dragon to teach you," Natsu continued, "But mating is a big deal to dragons and dragon slayers. We have one mate that we are paired with, and once we find them nothing else matters. Even if you are serious about Lucy now, what if your mate comes along later when you're married and you have kids, and you suddenly leave her? Because that's the kind of thing you would do for a mate: leave everything behind without a thought. Once you find them, they are the _only_ thing that matters—"

"Natsu—" Laxus began, but the fire mage ignored him.

"Lucy's a wonderful person, and she deserves so much love in her life. She's had enough hurt without you carelessly throwing her into the crossfires. I can tell she loves you, I mean, _Mavis,_ she broke into my house just to tell me—"

"Natsu—"

"And I know it'll hurt to her to break up now, but it'll be so much better than having it happen down the road when she's really cemented her feelings for you. Most slayers don't even bother dating or sleeping with anyone before they find their mate, but I guess there's no way you could have known—"

"NATSU," Laxus shouted at the mage who was pretty much talking to himself at this point.

"Y-yeah?" Natsu stuttered nervously, jerking out of his soliloquy.

"She's it. Lucy _is_ my mate."

Natsu just stared at him, clearly trying to decipher what his guild mate had just said.

"Huh?" the fire slayer eloquently pontificated. Laxus took a deep breath, trying not to scream at his nakama.

"Lucy. Is. My. Mate."

Natsu squinted his eyes at him suspiciously, as if that possibility was completely unbelievable.

"How would you know? You didn't even know what a mate was before I got here."

 _Don't hit him. Don't hit him._

"Yes, Natsu, I did. I've known Lucy was my mate for months now," Laxus said, using all of his willpower to remain calm.

"For months… But what about all those other women you slept with?" Natsu asked indelicately, but Laxus couldn't blame him. He had a point.

"You were right, I didn't know what a mate was until I realized there was something special about Lucy. I couldn't stop thinking about her despite the fact I'd never really talked to her, so I tried to distract myself. It worked for a bit, but as the bond got stronger I couldn't even look at other women. Finally I looked it up and found out about the whole dragon mating thing."

Natsu continued to give the blonde a wary look.

"Then why are you just now talking to Lucy," Natsu asked. He'd made a move as soon as he realized Gray was his mate. Then again, it had taken the ice mage a long time to get used to the idea of being Natsu's mate, even though they quickly found out the sex was fantastic.

"Well the book I read kept talking about how there's only one mate and if you screw it up, that's it. That was your one chance. We'd never talked before and I assumed she was still upset about the…incident. I mean, Evergreen turned her to stone. That's a hard thing to get over…

"Anyway, so I had this idea that maybe if we, y'know, hooked up then she'd feel more comfortable talking to me about all the other stuff. I mean, if I'd just up and asked her out she'd have laughed in my face. Or screamed in it. But she wouldn't have said 'yes'."

"Lucy's not that kind of girl. She gives everyone a second chance," Natsu said defensively of his friend.

"I know that _now_. But I couldn't help feeling like she wouldn't want to get near me. I'm the brute that tried to tear her guild apart. I needed to break the ice…no, completely shatter the ice. I needed a reason to talk to her, a reason for her to look twice at me, so I found Libra's key and offered her a deal. She'd do whatever I wanted for a week, and in that week I'd have the chance to get her to know me. I haven't told her about being my mate yet, though. I don't want her to feel pressured."

Natsu almost had to sit on his hands to resist the urge to facepalm.

"Laxus…you realize that being mates is a two way street, right? She's drawn to you the same way you are drawn to her. That way you don't have to worry about your mate not loving you back. They kind of have to, the same way you kind of have to love them in the first place. I mean, do you really think Gray and I would have looked twice at each other if there weren't some deep magic involved?"

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

Laxus wanted to electrocute himself for being so stupid. How had he not realized that sooner? _Hell, Natsu and that stripper managed to figure this out before me_.

He was completely mortified. He could tell his face was turning bright pink at the thought of his first encounter with Lucy, and he could no longer remember how that had _ever_ seemed like a good idea.

"So, you're saying she can't reject me?"

"Not exactly. How you act with each other makes a difference, but you're naturally drawn to each other. You want the other person to love you. But if something were bad enough she would be able to sever the bond. Like if you hurt her or betrayed her or something like that. But don't worry—if you hurt her I'll kill you before she has the chance to break the bond," Natsu said with a cheery smile.

"I'd rather die than harm her," Laxus said instantly, and he knew it was true.

Natsu looked at Laxus like he was seeing him for the first time, and finally he saw that the older mage was completely sincere. Suddenly Natsu felt like a total dick, just like Gray had said he was being. He was also amazed that Laxus hadn't tried to rip his limbs off already. If someone had tried to come between him and Gray, Natsu didn't trust himself to be so patient. He just never imagined that Lucy might really be Laxus' mate. He would have guessed Freed was the lightning layer's mate before suggesting the sweet celestial mage was.

"Oh," Natsu said stupidly as Laxus stood up.

"Are we done now? I don't want Lucy to wake up alone," Laxus said and Natsu smiled lightly.

"Yeah, I'm done…Laxus?"

"Hm?" the lightning slayer grunted as he headed back to his apartment.

"I'm watching you," the pinkette said, as if he had to. Laxus chuckled.

"I'd be disappointed if you weren't," he smirked and headed back to his room.

* * *

Lucy woke up as a chill ran over her skin. She cracked her eyes open and quickly noticed her favorite dragon slayer was missing. She frowned and sat up, looking around the room as if he might be hiding in the corner, but he wasn't. She got up and wandered over to his wardrobe, taking out one of his large t-shirts and throwing it on. She looked around for her panties for a few minutes before remembering she hadn't worn any on her date last night.

 _Such a ho._

She smirked as she recalled their "electrifying" night together. _Guess that's one way to use his power_. She also remembered how she'd said she loved him and blushed slightly. She wasn't sure what had possessed her to say that, but she couldn't bring herself to regret saying it. As far as she could tell she really _did_ love him. At least, she'd never felt this way for anyone else before.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front door shutting quietly. She heard somebody walking through the apartment until finally the door creaked open lightly. Laxus smiled and walked over to her, kissing her deeply, morning breath and all.

"I'd hoped you'd still be asleep," he said so sweetly, Lucy knew no one would believe her if she told them.

"Where did you go?"

"Natsu stopped by."

Lucy froze and instantly felt her anger firing back up.

"Why that little…He just doesn't know when to drop a fight, does he! I'm so sorry, I'll—"

"Lucy, it's fine. We talked and I think he's cool with us," Laxus said, rubbing her arms to calm her down.

Lucy just cocked her head to the side, completely confused. He'd been completely bull-headed about this yesterday, propelling them into their first real fight, and after a little chat with Laxus it's all just fine? Lucy could feel her anger returning.

"So what? He doesn't trust my judgment on the matter but he trusts yours? I'm his _best fucking friend!_ That asshole!"

"Calm down, blondie, it's not like that," he said, reviving his old nickname for her. "I just managed to convince him that I wasn't gonna run out on ya."

"Well that's good to know," Lucy smiled, feeling her rage die down.

She reached up and pulled Laxus down into a sweet kiss, her arms wrapping around his neck. He walked her back until she was flush against the wall and deepened the kiss, letting his hands rub at the backs of her thighs. He smiled against her mouth before pulling back.

"At least not for two more days. You're still my little slave for now. Now go make me breakfast, I'm _starving,_ " he teased, nipping lightly at her ear.

Lucy gasped in mock outrage, slapping him lightly on the chest before she skipped off to his kitchen. He was close on her tail and went to make some coffee while she rifled through his fridge.

"All you have in here is meat and eggs," Lucy admonished as she bent down, rummaging through his food.

Laxus let his eyes rest on her scantily clad backside while he scooped out the coffee.

"That's all I need," he said.

"What about fruits? Vegetables! There's a whole world of food out there, Mr. Dreyar, and I intend to introduce you to it."

"Please tell me that doesn't involved more oatmeal," he said, remembering breakfast at her place.

"Oatmeal is a wonderful food! Pack full of nutrients, it's a great start to a healthy day," she lectured.

"Yeah, but it tastes like someone already tried to eat it."

"Not if you add stuff to it. Milk, bananas, raisins—"

"If I see one goddamn raisin in this house I'm kicking you out."

"Raisins are good!" Lucy said, outraged by his slander as she pulled out some bacon and eggs.

"Grapes are good. Wine is good. Grape jelly is good. Raisins are a waste of grapes and a disgrace to the name of fruit."

"I can't believe I'm hearing such hatred spew from your mouth. I thought you were a changed man," she mocked.

"A lot of things can change, Ms. Heartfilia, but raisins will always be disgusting."

Lucy sent him the best scowl she could manage, which promptly fell apart into a smile when he winked at her.

"Now hurry up with that breakfast before I eat you instead."

"Mmm, please do," she smirked.

Laxus growled lowly at her before handing her a cup of coffee. He couldn't believe how perfect everything felt. Here he was standing in his kitchen drinking coffee while his mate, clad only in one of his old t-shirts, made a mess of his breakfast. And she loved him. And he loved her. And her best friend was giving them a chance. And the sky was blue and the world felt _good_.

He wished he'd known he could feel like this years ago. Then perhaps he wouldn't have been so angry, so lost. It was like Laxus was the earth and Lucy was the sun that brought him to life. That's what her name meant, wasn't it? _Light._

He wished there was a way for him to tell her how much she meant to him, to put that into words. 'I love you' didn't seem strong enough. How do you tell someone that life would be meaningless without them? That they are the sun and the moon and the stars? Did normal people feel this way, or was this a dragon thing too? Suddenly he really wished he'd had a dragon to teach him some of these things instead of being a lab experiment.

"Lucy," he said, slightly more huskily than he'd intended.

"Hm?" she asked, glancing at him over her shoulder with her big brown eyes, her hair thrown up lazily, her mascara smudged, and a little bit of drool still stuck to her mouth. She was a hot mess. A beautiful, perfect, hot mess.

"I'm not going to run out on you. Ever."

Lucy stopped what she was doing and turned around. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling herself into his chest.

"I never thought you would," she said softly. Somehow she always knew instinctively that Laxus wasn't the kind of guy that would tell a woman he loved her if he didn't. Laxus placed a hand on her head, petting her lightly. "And I don't plan on going anywhere either."

"Let's tell the guild. Today."

Lucy looked up at Laxus and saw he was serious. A warm, bubbly feeling spread through her chest.

"Yeah, I think that's good."

She stood up on her tippy-toes and pressed her lips against his, tasting the coffee and affection on his tongue.

"You're burning the bacon." Laxus he whispered against her lips.

"Oh shit!"

Laxus smiled into his coffee. Who knew happiness could be so simple?

* * *

 **As always, thanks so much for all the reviews. Hope you're having a lovely beginning of autumn! XOXO**


	10. Day 6 Part 2- Confessions

**I actually updated this story. HA! Bet you didn't see that one coming!  
**

 **Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy this chapter. I'll try to get the next update out muchhhh sooner this time. :) Leave a review to tell me what you think! ~**

* * *

"Maybe we should wait a little bit," Lucy said for the thousandth time since they had left her apartments.

After a raisin-free breakfast, she and Laxus had gone back to her place so she could get dressed in preparation of the big reveal. However, as enthusiastic as she'd been about telling the guild a few hours ago, the whole trip there was spent trying to weasel her way out of it.

"No," Laxus said simply, having long given up trying to reason with her. He too was anxious, but he'd rather get it out in the open than try to hide. However, he also realized that Lucy was talking out of fear, not sense. Fear, he found, was hard to negotiate with, so he'd given up entirely, instead opting to drag the poor blonde along.

Literally.

She tried to dig her feet into the stone pavement without any luck, sliding behind her muscly beau. He sent a half-annoyed, half-amused glance back at his struggling girlfriend.

"Lucy, no matter what they think, it doesn't matter. If they love us together, great, if not, it doesn't matter. I'm not leaving you," he said, just in case that was what she needed to hear.

She straightened up a bit and stared at the ground.

"I know that," she pouted. "I'm still nervous."

"I know," he said, slinking one arm around her shoulders. "But we can do this together."

"Yeah," she agreed with a deep breath. She smiled up at him as they turned the corner and the guild came into view.

"I take it back, I'm a chicken," she said, trying to duck under his arm and make a run for it.

"Oh no you don't," he growled, sweeping the spirit mage off her feet. She let out a squeal as he carried her the rest of the way to the guild.

"Laxus! Let me down!" she protested.

"Nope. You're a flight risk that can't be trusted," he said. His face was a blank slate but for the twinkle in his eye.

He kicked the front doors open, immediately gaining the attention of all the guild members.

"Lucy and I are dating!" he shouted, oblivious to how red the blonde in his arms turned. "Any of you got a problem with that, you can fuck off."

The whole hall was silent. Lucy buried her flaming face in her hands as if it would somehow help her disappear. It didn't, which turned out to be an okay thing because seconds later the guild erupted in true Fairy Tail fashion. Laxus set Lucy down as the couple was bombarded with words of congratulations, praise, and encouragement. Lucy looked up to Laxus' face, meeting his currently blue eyes and the smile that she mirrored. He wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked into the crazy crowd.

"How long?" "How did this happen?" "When am I getting great-grandbabies?"

A thousand questions came flying their way, some a bit more uncouth than the others and a few making even Laxus blush (you can always depend on Cana for a few unsavory questions). They made their way to the bar and sat down while everyone crowded around them and Mira started handing out prizes from a betting pool regarding Lucy's dating life that the blonde had been blissfully unaware of up to that moment.

Lucy scanned the crowd looking for a familiar head of pink hair and found it sitting in the corner with Gray. To her surprise he was looking right at her, an apologetic look on his face as he gave a small wave. She waved back, hoping she'd get to talk to him soon. For now, though, she had to get through Mira.

"Tell. Me. _Everything_ ," she commanded, her icy blue eyes positively demonic with gossip-lust.

With a wide smile, Lucy launched into a version of their relationship independent of Libra's key and any shady agreements. She tried to emphasize that she and Laxus had only been together for less than a week, and that they were only telling everyone so that they weren't hiding it – it wasn't like they were getting married or anything. Unfortunately, she was pretty sure her words of caution fell on deaf, overly-excited ears, especially as Makarov kept talking about how beautiful his new great-grand babies would be.

When everyone had finally asked everything they could think of – and I mean _everything_ – Lucy wandered over to the corner mildly exhausted to talk to Natsu. She sat down, weary after her interrogation. Gray gave her an understanding smile and left so that it was just her and Natsu.

"I'm really sorry," Natsu said, peeking up at her between strands of pink hair. He looked like a puppy begging for forgiveness, and Lucy couldn't stay mad at him.

"That really wasn't nice," she said.

"I know, and I was a dick. I was just worried about you, I mean, dragon slayers are so different from other people and you're important to me. But now that I know you're his mate, I can be happy for you," Natsu said, his face bright with joy.

"Mate? What does that mean?" Lucy asked.

Natsu's expression instantly fell. His eyes shot over to look at Laxus, who was deep in a conversation with the Raijinshuu crew and luckily didn't notice his slip up.

"Oh shit," he said. "Uh—nothing it means nothing. I meant girlfriend."

Lucy gave him that look that often indicated a Lucy-kick wasn't far behind.

" _Natsu_ ," she growled intimidatingly.

"I'm sorry!" he cried, quivering slightly. Either he'd have to face Lucy's wrath or Laxus' and, frankly, Lucy's sounded worse. "I don't think I was supposed to tell you!"

"Natsu!" she barked irritably, now wondering just what it was he was hiding from her.

He sighed in defeat. "It's a dragon thing. We all have one mate, like a soul mate, and once we find our mate then that's it, they become everything to us. Kind of like "one true love" from a fairy tale or something."

"So, you're saying that I'm…" she said, slightly flabbergasted. Natsu nodded his head.

"And Gray is mine," he added.

"So, what does that mean? We're like married or something?!" she asked, feeling a strange panic setting in. What if she wasn't good enough? What if Laxus didn't really love her and was only with her because of some strange dragon voodoo?

"Well, in dragon culture mates are equivalent to spouses for humans, but even more. They're magically drawn to each other, like I said, one true love. No one else could ever replace that feeling for them. Especially after they're officially mated, they can sense each other, like a kind of sixth sense."

"What do you mean mated?" she asked nervously.

Natsu sighed again. He really didn't think he should be the one explaining all this to her, but they'd just made up and he sure as shit wasn't about to jeopardize their friendship again.

"The dragon – or dragon slayer in this case – marks their mate with a bite, normally to the neck, infused with their magic. As they drink their mate's blood, the mate's magic sinks into them, and the two become merged. It can be kind of painful, so normally it's done with, y'know…sex."

Lucy's head was spinning. This couldn't be right. Laxus had only started talking to her at all because he found Libra's key!

"You're probably wrong, Natsu. There's no way that I'm…that he's…"

Natsu frowned slightly. Finding one's mate was supposed to be a happy thing, but Lucy looked so bewildered.

"You are. He told me himself," he said.

"He…told you?"

"Yeah, this morning I went to apologize to him – and to you, but he said you were sleeping – anyway, and he told me that you were his mate. That's when I knew that he wasn't just playing with you and that you didn't have to worry about falling in love with him only for him to find his true mate later."

"But how does he know that I'm his mate? Maybe he's wrong!" Lucy said desperately.

She didn't know if she wanted this to be true or not. Part of her felt like it was imprisoning her into a relationship that she might not even want, but a bigger part knew that she wanted it. Whether it was because of the magic or not, she wanted to be with Laxus. But was it really true love if magic made you feel that way?

"Lucy," Natsu said, taking her hand into his. Her heart was racing and her eyes wide as they bore into his, searching for answers. "A dragon is never wrong about their mate. It's not something you could mistake with anything else. It's not the whirlwind kind of love that people fall in and out of so easily. It's built to last centuries, longer than our lives. If Laxus says that you are his mate, then you are."

Lucy had nothing to say to that. Natsu sounded so serious, and it was kind of weirding her out. Whatever this mating business was apparently was huge to dragon slayers . And now it would be huge to her.

"I…" she started, but cut off, not knowing what she wanted to say.

"It'll be okay," Natsu said, giving her a reassuring smile. "Finding one's mate is one of the best things to ever happen in a dragon slayer's life, _and_ in their mate's. And if it's not, I'll kick his ass for you."

Maybe this really was a good thing, but she was just so afraid that it was too good to be true, that one day she'd wake up to realize that everything had been a dream. Then again, if ancient dragon magic was involved maybe everything really would be alright.

Lucy smiled.

"Thanks, Natsu."

"Who's gonna kick my ass?" a deep voice asked from behind them, and Lucy turned to see her boyfriend – her _mate_ – strolling over to them. It didn't seem like he'd caught any more of their conversation but Natsu's bold declaration, which Lucy was relieved about. Now didn't seem the best time to bring up the issue about mates.

"That would be me," Natsu said, clearly taking cue from Lucy to distract Laxus from inquiring into the subject of their talk. He set his arms on fire and stood up, ready for a fight to blow off all the steam that had been building up over the past few days.

"Pfffft, sit down, flame-head, I don't want to hurt you," Laxus smirked.

"Oh I'm all fired up now!" Natsu yelled, launching himself at the lightning slayer.

Lucy was thankful for Natsu's distraction as the two dragon slayer began rolling around on the floor. She certainly had a lot to think about.

* * *

Lucy and Laxus spent nearly the entire afternoon at the guild amongst friends and – literally for Laxus – family. When they left, the sun was beginning its descent behind the horizon casting long shadows off the buildings and filling the air with a warm, orangey glow. Despite the calm of the evening, Lucy hadn't said much to her boyfriend – mate? – since her talk with Natsu. She had so many questions weighing on her heart and mind.

Laxus, however, seemed to be in a very good mood and was almost chatty – _almost_ – as they walked back towards Lucy's apartment. Apparently his grandfather's seal of approval was the thing he was most worried about, and now that he'd acquired that it seemed like nothing was in his way. That is, until he looked down and noticed the strange look on Lucy's face as she looked out vaguely into the distance while they walked.

"Lucy?" he asked. The girl turned her large brown eyes up to him, but they were murky and unreadable to him, something he hadn't had a problem with in their few days together. "What's wrong?"

Lucy looked away from him. In truth, she wasn't sure what was wrong, but something about Natsu telling her she was Laxus' mate bothered her to no end and her mind wouldn't stop chewing on it. She took a deep breath. They had reached her apartment and were standing next to the canal where friendly boaters waved and shouted hello. Lucy gave them a half-hearted wave before looking back to her boyfriend.

"Natsu said you're my mate," she said, her voice quiet and unsure.

He frowned slightly as he took in her words mixed with her troubled expression, and his chest ached slightly as he realized she wasn't particularly thrilled about it.

"Shit," he said even more quietly than her. He was going to kill that bastard. This wasn't how he wanted her to find out. He looked into the water of the canal which reflected the setting sun and wished that it was beautiful enough to distract him from the hurt he felt, from the hurt _she_ felt.

"Yes," he said finally. "You are."

She took in a shaky breath. All chance of Natsu lying or being mistaken was wrong and it felt like her fate was sealed. Somehow it made her feel trapped, even though it trapped her right where she wanted to be.

When she didn't say anything, Laxus spoke again.

"Do you…know what that means?" he asked. She was a bit surprised to hear the strong and powerful dragon slayer sound so weak at that moment.

"Natsu explained it a bit. He said it's like…soul mates," she said.

Laxus ran his hand nervously through his hair. "I guess that's a good explanation," he conceded.

"How do you know?" she asked timidly, looking everywhere but at his stormy eyes.

"I just…know," he said. "Part of it is your scent. I've never smelled anything so wonderful in my life. Then there's the possessiveness and the instinct to protect. It hurts when you're not with me. And I just feel drawn to you, like you've my other half. I just know that there is no one out there like you. Not for me."

Lucy's breathing hitched at his speech. It was beyond romantic, not just sweet words to make her swoon. He sounded like a murderer confessing to his crimes, so passionate and desperate it made her spine shiver.

"Laxus…"

"I'm going crazy, Lucy. I don't know who I was before my inner dragon claimed you, and I don't care because I'll never be that man again. I'll never be able to live without you again," he said, his voice deep and breathy as he tried to convey just how much she meant to him, though words could never do him justice.

She glanced up to meet his eyes which were pleading with her to accept him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, tears filling her eyes.

That, she realized, was what really hurt. She didn't mind being his mate – hell, she'd never been so happy to hear something in her life! – but she couldn't figure out why he would hide something like that from her. It wasn't a small detail, it was the very crux of their relationship, and he had kept it from her as if he didn't trust her.

Laxus bit his lip, hating himself for making her question his intentions at all. He had been such a fool to let his fear of rejection lead him to hurt his mate.

"I…didn't understand it. I didn't know the effect it would have on you and I was afraid," he admitted lowly, hanging his head. "I first noticed it about half a year ago. We'd never even talked, there was no way I could just come up to you and tell you that you were my mate and had to spend the rest of your life with me. I wanted it to be your choice, and I didn't want you to think that some creepy magic was the only reason I cared for you, because it's not."

Lucy said nothing, so he continued.

"I never had a dragon. My powers come from the lacrima embedded inside of me, I never had anyone to teach me about these things. At first, when I started to feel the pull towards you I ignored it. I tried to distract myself with other women, but I just kept thinking about you, someone I'd never even talked to. Everyone else just fell away, they were worthless to me. When I finally accepted what was happening, that you were my intended mate, I knew I needed a reason to talk to you. So I started searching for another one of the keys. I spent months following rumors and dead ends until I found one."

Lucy was still stunned speechless, so he continued.

"I wanted to try and have a relationship with you first, before I told you about mates. I never wanted you to feel like you didn't have a choice-"

"Laxus…" she said quietly and he stopped talking.

"Yes?" he asked, when she said nothing else.

Her heart was racing at a thousand miles an hour. She was so utterly lost in a way she hadn't been since she first left her father's estate. She'd never felt so connected with someone, and yet so horribly alone.

Inside she was split into two painful halves. The intellectual side of her completely understood everything he said and accepted it, but the other, less rational half of her still felt so betrayed. She felt like she'd been conned even though she knew he only had her interests at heart. She was angry, both at him for hiding it and at herself for her irrational response.

"Lucy?" he asked again. His deep voice washed over her, so calming and comfortable. In less than a week, the man in front of her had become her home, her life, and that scared her more than anything ever had.

"I…I need some time to think," she said, hoping the words came out coherently. She stumbled back towards her apartment building, throwing open the door and rushing inside.

"Luc—" she heard him call out behind her, but she ignored him.

Tears streamed down her face and her hands shook so violently she could barely unlock her door. When she finally made it inside she ran straight to her bed and collapsed onto it in a pile of tears and confusion. She sobbed until she fell into a restless sleep filled with every fear she'd ever had about their relationship.

Outside Laxus stood like a statue until the sun went down and the moon rose high into the sky. Silent tears streamed down his face, but he barely even noticed. He felt like he'd been ripped in half, his heart pulled straight from his chest still beating – being kicked out of Fairy Tail hadn't been even a fraction as painful as this was. Underneath the pain he could feel hatred stirring in his gut. Pure, unadulterated hatred for himself for messing up the one thing he'd ever really wanted.

Finally he walked away, slowly wandering back to his apartment where he sat in silence and breathed in the last of her lingering scent, wondering if he'd ever smell her in this apartment again.


	11. Day Too-Many-Without-You- Magic

"Natsu, get your ass up. We're going to the guild," Gray demanded, eyeing his partner who was slumped pathetically over the couch.

"I messed everything up…again," the dragon slayer moaned. "Maybe that's all I do – destroy shit."

"Would you get over yourself? You didn't mess anything up. Laxus was the one who didn't tell Lucy about her being his mate – that was _his_ mistake, not yours," Gray reasoned.

"It's not like he was keeping it from her forever, though. He was confused, and then I ruined it."

"They're mates, Natsu, they'll get over it," the ice-make mage said.

"But what if they don't? Then I'll have to carry that around for the rest of my life. I can't stand the thought that I ruined Lucy's happiness. Again," Natsu said dramatically.

Gray just rolled his eyes. "If you don't get off this damn couch, I can promise you your miserable life won't be that long."

"Are you threatening me, snow queen?"

"Maybe I am, ash brain."

Natsu gave a weak laugh and sat up, his tired green eyes meeting those of his mate. Without any words spoken, Natsu felt the comfort his mate lended him. It hurt so much to think that he might have prevented Lucy from feeling that same warmth with her own mate.

Gray just shook his head, bending down to lightly kiss the fiery slayer.

"C'mon. I'm starting to get poor from not working and I don't like it," he grumbled.

"Fine," Natsu relented. "But if Laxus kills me when we walk in the guild, I just want you to know it's all your fault."

"If you'd seen Laxus recently you'd know he's in no mood to kill anyone…"

Gray frowned at the thought of the once proud lightning slayer moping about the guild. The bulky blonde sat at the bar all day, his scarred eye trained on the door hoping a certain celestial mage would walk through. Not even the other members of Raijinshuu could cheer him up. It was rather heartbreaking.

The ice mage, however, was certain it would blow over. He and Natsu had been through hell and back many times in their short relationship, especially at the beginning. If the mating bond could pull them through, then surely his friends would be fine as well.

An hour later, the fire and ice duo walked through the doors of the guild. As expected, the first eyes they met were the stormy grey ones of Laxus looking for Lucy. Natsu physically flinched at the look of disappointment that crossed them when Laxus realized his mate still hadn't come, and Gray had to resist the urge to hold him. They walked over and sat down at a table in the corner with Wendy, Gajeel, and the Exceeds.

"Still nothing?" Gray asked as Natsu laid his head down on the table.

"Nope," Gajeel said brusquely. "Seems sparky over there fucked up real good this time."

" _Gajeel!"_ Wendy whipspered admonishingly. "That's not fair."

"What?" the iron slayer asked defensively. "It's his fault for not telling her, and now every night I have to listen to Levy go on and on about how sad Lucy is or all the weird shit she's doing to distract herself. Y'know bunny girl picked up baking? Massive amounts of cupcakes. If I have to eat one more goddam cupcake—"

"She's just trying to sort everything out. At this point, she doesn't know if her feelings are real or if it's just magic," Gray said. He knew the feeling well as it was something he'd struggled with himself a few months ago. He glanced over at the lightning slayer, self-conscious about the fact Laxus could likely hear every word they said. If he did, though, he didn't show it.

"So stupid," Gajeel grumbled. "What's it matter as long as she's happy? Hell, even you two managed to get past that one."

Gray looked around suddenly, making sure no one heard the careless slayer's words.

"Would you keep it down, metal head?" he hissed.

"What? Too embarrassed to admit you're mated to that flame-brain? I guess I can get that," Gajeel sneered.

"That's not—" Gray begin, but Natsu just placed a weary hand on his arm.

"Gray, it's fine," Natsu said in a very un-Natsu-like way that hinted at maturity.

"No, it's not. I'm not ashamed," Gray said, his voice growing louder and louder, drawing a bit of an audience. "I don't want to hide anymore. They're our nakama, they're family, they deserve to know."

"Know what?" Mira prodded from the bar, her gossip sensor going off.

Gray stood and looked down to meet Natsu's shocked, wide eyes. He knew that the reason they'd been hiding their relationship was mostly for the ice mage's benefit, but he was tired of it. If the time wasn't right now, it never would be. And at the very least, they could help pull all the gossip mongers' attention and let Lucy and Laxus heal without the spotlight.

"Natsu and I are mates," he said, reaching a hand down to rest on Natsu's shoulder.

One could have heard a mouse fart in the stunned silence that followed. Shocked expressions spread like the plague from person to person as they processed what just he'd said. Mira's face suddenly turned upward into a visciously excited and she clapped her hands together, running over to them for a suffocating hug that betrayed the demon inside her.

"I _knew_ it! Gratsu is canon!" she cheered, the guild erupting around her in similar sentiment. Even the dragon slayer at the bar spared a half-hearted grin for the couple. Mostly he just seemed thankful that all the attention was off of him for a moment.

Mira ran back to the bar and pulled out a chalk board.

"That means Cana and I split the winnings," she declared victoriously.

"Everybody pay up!" Cana yelled out from where she was wrapped around her keg.

"What?" Gray asked dumbly, earning a smirk from the demon mage. There was no way anyone had predicted him and Natsu. _He_ hadn't predicted him and Natsu.

"Gray, sniffing out romance in this guild is my job. You didn't honestly think you could hide it from me?" she asked, causing the ice-make mage to blush because – actually – that's exactly what he'd thought.

He glanced down at his pink-haired mate. The sudden excitement in the guild seemed to distract him well enough as he got into a brawl with Gajeel and smashed a table with Elfman soon joining in shouting something about true-love being manly. It seemed everyone was looking for a reason to cheer up after the rift between the blondes. Gray smiled lightly at he watched Natsu jump around in a manner much more Natsu-like than he'd been for quite some time. Suddenly his green eyes caught his own.

"What are you smirking at, frosty?"

"Just how stupid you are, dragon breath," Gray grinned, jumping in to join the fight. Mira watched as the group of brawling mages grew until finally she yelled at them to take it outside before they destroyed her guild. They tumbled out the doors in a whirlwind of flying fists and pained groans that were signature Fairy Tail.

Shaking her head, she walked back to her post at the bar, glad that the atmosphere had picked up a bit. Everyone had been so happy about Lucy and Laxus, and so destroyed when they fell apart. They'd needed a little pick-me-up.

"Well, Mira," Wakaba slurred over his beer as she started wiping down the counter. "I was sure you were wrong this time. That'll teach me to bet against you again."

"Yes, I do have a knack for these things, don't I?" she said vaingloriously, batting her eyelashes. Her blue eyes moved across the now-rowdy guild to the sulking dragon slayer who stood roughly from his chair and headed out of the guild. "Let's just hope my other prediction comes true as well."

* * *

"There! Don't they look perfect?" Lucy asked, an unnaturally large grin plastered on her face as she pulled her millionth batch of cupcakes out of the oven.

"Yes, Lucy, they do. Just like the batch before them and the batch before that and the batch before that…" Levy groaned. She never thought she could abhore the scent of freshly baked pastries as much as she did then.

Lucy frowned slightly. She knew she was being stupid, but after telling Laxus that she needed some time to figure everything out she realized that she had no idea how she was supposed to do that. He was all she could think about, and surely in order to think logically about their relationship she had to stop pining over him like a puppy?

Once the initial shock of being his mate had worn off, she realized that she had kind of known all along, even if not in those words. In their one-week relationship, he had become a source of comfort to her, of love and warmth and – in a way - stability. And while her mind told her it didn't make any sense, her heart raged in protest.

She furrowed her brown, glancing at the keyring on her hip with Libra's new key gleaming brightly. The day after they – _she_ – decided to take a break, she'd found the key on her doorstep in a pretty little box. Despite her initial excitement at the prospect of getting the key, she hadn't yet brought herself to use it, as if she were waiting for something.

"Lucy?" Levy's voice asked, cutting through her thoughts.

"Mmhmm?" Lucy asked, her head snapping up to meet the bluenette's gaze.

"I'm going to head to the guild for a bit. Are you okay by yourself?"

Lucy laughed a little too forcedly. "Of course I'll be fine, Levy. I'm a Fairy Tail mage, I can handle myself."

Levy frowned. "You know that's not what I mean."

Lucy's fake smile fell a bit as she nodded and looked away. "I'll be fine. Go say hi to Gajeel for me."

She heard her door shut as she began cleaning her kitchen and stuffing her face with cupcakes. Her little apartment seemed so quiet and lonely now in a way it hadn't just a few weeks ago.

Lucy cleared her throat and looked around, determined to find something to do to distract herself – that's about all she did these days. Suddenly, a knock at the door caught her attention.

"Levy, you know you don't have to kno…ck…" she trailed off as she opened the door, her eyes meeting the blue-grey ones she'd been dreaming of all day.

"Laxus…" she breathed.

She knew he was going to come eventually, but even her wildest imagination couldn't have prepared her for the sight that waited for her.

The lightning slayer stood on her doorstep surrounded by a sea of colorful pink and red boxes and bags, vases of various flowers, balloons, and stuffed bears. Frankly it looked like he'd cleaned out a gift shop on Valentine's.

"What is…" she tried again, but she couldn't find the words. However, what she was lacking in speech, the dragon slayer quickly made up with a babble even she couldn't fully follow.

"I wasn't sure what to get you since I guess I don't really know you all that well but I just had to come see you and you're all I think about and I know I messed up but I really want to make it up to you since I've never cared about anyone like this and sure it's kind of scary but when I'm with you I can't be scared about anything and do you like chocolate? I think you do but if you don't you don't have to eat it and I got you this dress because it looked like something you would wear not that I'm trying to tell you what to wear and you can throw it all away if you want to but please just give me another chance I don't think I can be without you much longer—"

"LAXUS!" Lucy shouted, interrupting his bumbling soliloquy. "What is all this?"

Laxus took a deep breath, his eyes betraying his nervousness. "I know I fucked up, and I don't want to try and rush you into anything you're not certain about, but I love you. You're the only person I've ever felt this way about, the only person I _can_ feel this way about. Just please, _please_ give me another chance."

"Laxus," Lucy sighed. "I didn't break up with you. I just…need some time to figure this all out."

"And how much time will that be? I feel like I'm dying, Lucy. Without your smile, your laugh, life's not worth anything anymore without you."

Lucy's heart stuttered at his words. "I feel the same way…" she whispered.

"Then what's the problem?" he asked desperately.

Lucy frowned and glanced to the side. "There isn't one. _That's_ the problem. I keep expecting the clock to stoke midnight and for everything to turn back the way it was, for it to all be too good to be true. It's just all so fast, like a fairy tale, I'm afraid that one day we'll wake up and wonder what we were thinking."

Laxus understood her feelings logically, even if his heart kept calling bullshit. This was one dream he would never wake up from.

"Then let's start over," he said, causing Lucy's eyes to widen.

Before she could ask what he meant, he slammed the door shut. Lucy stood in shock as she stared at the inside of her door, wondering just what was going through that idiot slayer's head. For a few minutes she just stood in befuddled silence, confused as to what exactly she was supposed to do. Finally she was about to walk outside when she heard a knock.

"Laxus, what are you—" she began, opening the door again.

"Lucy Heartfilia," he said, standing there with now only a single boquet of daisies in his arms, the rest of the boxes and bags mysteriously gone. "You are my mate, the one person that I am destined to love and cherish for my entire life. I know that sounds like a lot to handle, but all I ask is that you join me for dinner and see where this thing goes."

He held the flowers out to her. For a moment, all Lucy could do was stare in shock. Then her eyes watered as she realized that that was exactly what she needed to hear. Suddenly being a dragon slayer's life mate – _anybody's_ life mate – was a big responsibility, but just seeing where their journey would take them was something she could handle.

Finally she smiled and took the flowers.

"I'd love to," she said, standing up on her tiptoes and pressing her lips against his.

Laxus smiled stupidly as he held his mate in his arms again, something his hyperdramatic imagination had been convincing him would never happen. Trying to fit into the roles that fate had scripted for them was an intimidating job, but just being Laxus and Lucy together was the easiest thing in the world.

"But, for the record, I want all that shit you bought me," Lucy said with a smirk.

"Whatever you want, my mate," Laxus replied, and they stood there kissing in the doorway.

All at once Lucy's lonely apartment felt like a home, and she knew, deep inside of her, that she was making the right decision. Maybe their relationship was rooted in magic, but weren't their entire lives as mages? And after all, if she had to describe how she felt when she was in Laxus' arms with his lips pressed gently against hers, that would be it – magical. It was magical and warm and beautiful and true, and it all started with a key.

~ THE END ~

* * *

 **I actually finished a story! I know, I can't believe it either.**

 **Don't worry, I will be writing a sexy epilogue to wrap everything up, but this is the end of the main story. I can't believe it took me so damn long to write - a true testament to my procrastination abilities. It was supposed to be just a really short pointless series of lemons. So much for planning.**

 **I also have a confession: I don't actually ship Lucy and Laxus. Like at all. Tbh, I don't actually remember why I picked Laxus for this story in the first place, but I did and I think it worked out okay. XD**

 **Anyway, I hope that you all liked it. Thanks for reading this far, and I would love to hear your thoughts in the reviews! If you want more of my mediocre writing, check out my other stories which I also update with unpredictable frequency.**

 **xoxo xache**


End file.
